Budget 2020 Reactions: Here's What Corporates Said on the Annual Finance Budget Presented by FM Nirmala Sitharaman

New Delhi, February 1: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday presented the Union Budget for the year 2020-21. The announcements by Sitharaman brought major relief to individual taxpayers as the finance minister slashed tax rates (as expected). However, the budget has garnered mixed reactions from corporates and business leaders. While some have hailed the budget for its ability to boost consumption, others called it a consumer-oriented business with little in it for the producers and the stock markets. Budget 2020: Full Text of Nirmala Sitharaman's Speech in Hindi And English, Download PDF Here.

The finance minister further said that during the years 2014-19, the government brought a paradigm shift in governance. She termed GST as a historic structural reform, saying it integrated the country economically and brought uniformity in businesses. Presenting the Union Budget for 2020-21, she said it is aimed at boosting income and purchasing power of people. Budget 2020-21: 'Never Seen a Liquidity Crisis as Bad as Today', Says N Hiranandani Before Budget Rollout.

Below Are Reactions From Corporates and Business Leaders on Union Budget 2020

Startup Founder Financepeer Mr. Rohit Gajbhiye Reactions on Post Union Budget

"The Budget shows the visionary mindset of the government. Great emphasis has been laid on the correcting and transforming the framework of current education and investment systems. The announcements such as Investment clearance cell and National recruitment agency and funds allocation for digitization, skill development and enhancing rural connectivity will lead to job creation and encourage entrepreneurship. Further Factoring Act of 2011 to allow NBFCs to be a part of TReDs will provide the necessary impetus for the economic and financial sustainability of MSMEs."

Logycode Founder & CEO Dr. Ambrish Kumar Post-Budget Reaction

"The Union Budget has addressed some of the hopes of the logistic sector as the government has given green signal to the National Logistics Policy. Setting up of single window e-logistics market and focus on the generation of employment, skills and making MSMEs competitive will further give a boost to the sector. Apart from this, the focus on Inland Waterways will also provide acceleration to the sector as the development of waterways will energize economic activity along river banks. Further, the allocation of Rs. 1.70 lakh crore for transport infrastructure in 2020-21 will bring necessary development."

Budget Commentary from Ola Mobility Institute

"The budget’s focus on the development of transportation infrastructure, specifically on urban transportation through allocation of funds for metro-rail projects will help achieve Ease of Living through Ease of Moving. The transportation infrastructure development should also focus on accessibility to all including senior citizens and persons with disabilities. Sub-urban rail will boost multi-modal connectivity and open up new economic opportunities for areas in and around cities like Bengaluru.

The clean-air fund of Rs 4,400 crores to be provided in the form of incentives to be notified by MoEFCC should consider measures to link the incentives to the electrification of vehicles and associated infrastructure such as battery-swapping and charging.

The government’s recognition of the role of New Economy in the form of aggregator platforms and sharing economy is a significant step towards encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship. The universal pension coverage with auto-enrolment realises the long-felt need of mobile social security for workers will boost the platform economy."

Abhishek Ganguly, Managing Director, Puma

“India currently does not have the infrastructure, capability, skillset and technology to manufacture higher end footwear. Therefore, increasing customs duty of footwear from 25-35% may not have a significant impact on imports. Presently, at the entry price, we anyway manufacture 30% of our footwear in India, and we will continue to do so. The government should proactively promote and enable footwear factories which can handle more technical manufacturing. This is a huge opportunity as India can definitely take share from China and far East – not only for domestic, but also international consumption.”

Enclosed is the quote by Mr. Harsh Jain, Co-founder and COO, Groww

"Startup ESOPs taxation on vesting will be deferred for five years or till exit - whichever is earlier! This is great news as the current system collects taxes too early. This will encourage more startups to get incorporated and create jobs. It will make it easier for startups to incentivize good talent and attract more skilled talent towards working in startups"

"Dividend tax removal and tax to be paid by the investor based on his/her tax slab is good news as it simplifies taxation on dividend earned by investors and reduces hassles. Raising deposit cover from Rs 1 lakh to 5 lakh is great news and will definitely give investors more peace of mind."

Enclosed is the quote by Mr. Archit Gupta, Founder, and CEO, ClearTax

"The complex tax regime for taxpayers with the slabs rejig. With the optional new regime, taxpayers will have to evaluate what works better. Those committed to long term saving and investing via 80C may be discouraged and this may likely demotivate taxpayers from tax-saving linked investing.

DDT removal is good as it increases dividends received in the hands of the taxpayer - however, such receipts to now are taxable in their hands. Those above 20% tax slab - will now face more tax on their dividend income.

We welcome deferment of perquisite taxation - now taxation at the time of 'exercise' deferred to 5 years or till they leave the company or till they sell their shares - whichever is earlier. This will be a key plank for hiring quality resources.

Raising the turnover threshold for audit for businesses to Rs 5Cr is a welcome relief. Hopefully, tax filing for such businesses will also be simplified. However, such businesses will have to be careful with keeping cash transactions under 5% and will need a technology-based mechanism to track that."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 01, 2020 06:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).