Owners of small and medium-sized trading ventures in the city have expressed disappointment over the Budget proposals.
As far as small trade is concerned, the Budget is a cause for some mortification, said G. Karthikeyan of Kerala Merchant Chamber of Commerce. He added that demands from traders like more Government control over e-commerce companies had not been heeded to.
Traders had sought a level-playing field as micro and small traders bore the brunt of heavy discounts offered by e-commerce companies, he said.
At the same time, traders are disappointed that they are a category of operators who do not get any consideration when it comes to social security and health care cover.
While farmers get subsidised or even zero per cent loans, traders do not have the facility.
Though traders are not seeking zero per cent interest loan, the Government could have considered providing them low-interest loans, he said. Similar is the case with health insurance schemes. The Government could have considered providing health cover to traders under any of its schemes.
Mr. Karthikeyan felt that the proposal to do away with auditing of accounts of trade and small enterprises with a turnover of up to ₹5 crore was not helpful.
With the high level of electronic transactions required for getting the exemption, the Budget proposal will end up with even those units now enjoying exemption now having to go in for auditing, he said.
There is, however, some consolation in the removal of the dividend distribution tax proposal, he added.
Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Sunny L. Malayil called it a “continuity” Budget. It is a balanced one, rather than a big bang one and continues in the direction of bringing in policy changes, reducing red tape and taxes, and allocating more to agriculture and rural economy, MSMEs and health care.
