The Confederation of Indian Industry, Puducherry chapter, has expressed concern at the poor response to the migration of traders to the Goods and Service Tax Network (GSTN) in Puducherry.
Although the implementation of the GST is on track, thanks to the strong efforts and commitment of the Union Finance Ministry, the response has been poor in Puducherry, Srikanth Sivaraman, Chairman, CII Puducherry State Council, said at a CII- PwC post budget analysis organised here on Monday.
Puducherry should had been ahead of other States since it was the first to launch the GSTN. But the response had been poor with several traders yet to collect their user id and password. Traders should expedite the process of registration, he said.
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Mr. Sivaraman termed the Budget as comprehensive and pragmatic and said that it had activated the key growth drivers within a challenging growth environment. The Budget would build positive sentiments among Indian industries and overseas investors. The Government would remain on a path of fiscal prudence while taking all possible steps to boost growth.
The reduced Income-Tax rate for medium- and small-scale enterprises announced in the Budget had brought cheer to a large majority of companies in the country, especially in Puducherry.
“We hope that the reduction in direct tax to the small- and medium-scale enterprises will bring in more employment and entrepreneurship. The measures for affordable housing, farmers and rural economy and infrastructure open avenues for investment and new livelihood. The budget has laid emphasis on skill education and skill building, health care and women,” he said.
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The post-budget session had a presentation on direct and indirect tax followed by a panel discussion.
N. Sushma, Director, Direct Tax, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and R.D. Shrikanth, Vice-Chairman, CII Puducherry State Council, participated in it.