Leading industrialists including Mallika Srinivasan, chairperson, Tractors and Farm Equipments (TAFE), Suneeta Reddy, managing director, Apollo Hospitals Group, among others, met Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman over the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
‘Constructive meeting’
They had one-on-one as well as group meetings with the Ministers. While some of them felt that the GST’s implementation has been smooth, others flagged certain procedural issues, higher tax rates and the like. Addressing reporters after their meetings with the Ministers, the industry representatives stated that the government’s main priority as of now was to get the IT backbone right, before looking at exemptions.
“We had a very constructive meeting. The GST implementation is settled now. There are some small procedural issues, which would be sorted out. I will give the government one more month for things to ease on the GST front,” Ms. Mallika Srinivasan said.
B.C. Datta, vice president, corporate affairs, Hyundai Motor India Ltd., said that the key issue for car makers was the 43% tax on hybrid models. Another issue was that services and parts are taxed at two different rates. “When you give your car for servicing, it attracts an 18% tax rate. But if any parts are replaced, it attracts a rate of 28%. So, there is a billing issue,” Mr. Datta explained.
Wider tax net
“The tax net will widen under the GST. Once that happens, the Ministers said, they would look at exemptions and lowering tax rates. Regarding service and auto parts’ billing, they have asked us to raise two separate bills,” he said.
Ms. Suneeta Reddy said that the Ministers were very receptive to the industry’s concerns, adding, “The major issue we highlighted was with regard to input cost and outsourcing of services where there are differential rates and there is a need for harmony.”
N.K. Ranganath, MD and CEO, Grundfos India, said that the refunds would take time to materialise, and until then, working capital would be affected.
“For us, the major concern is that there is no market now. We raised the issue of competitive wind auctions happening in quick succession with the Commerce Minister and stressed the need for a time gap between two auctions,” said Ramesh Kymal, chairman and managing director, Gamesa.
