189: Budget 2022 | ‘Roll back GST hike on mobile phones, better internet connectivity for online classes, tax sops’, industry experts share wishlist

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will make the Budget 2022 announcement next week and all sectors are awaiting relief to ensure ease of doing business, especially given the pandemic situation at hand. But, what does the common man want?

In this episode of Budget Podcast, CNBCTV18.com’s Kanishka Sarkar shares the expectations of sectors including infrastructure, education, telecom, and insurance, and how the proposed changes can impact the common man.

After the government has rationalised calculation of ‘Adjusted Gross Revenue’ (‘AGR’), reduced the bank guarantee requirements and interest rates on delayed payments of license fee and allowed 100 percent foreign direct investment (FDI), the telecom sector is now looking for support on various tax and policy-related matters.

Given that the sector is primarily dependent on the import of core manufacturing equipment and the accumulation of input tax credit under GST, Bipin Sapra, Tax Partner - Indirect Tax Services, EY, says the alternative of either allowing refund of accumulated input tax credit or enabling the adjustment of the same against other statutory levies would propel the growth.

He has also demanded the increase in GST rate on mobile phones from 18 percent to 12 percent be rolled back to enable a major population percentage to switch from feature phones to smartphones.

Meanwhile, Dr Pankaj Sharma, Director at JK Lakshmipat University, stated that quality education has become a distant dream for many due to the widening gap in access to education. Therefore, he thinks the government should announce multiple schemes to enhance better internet connectivity infrastructure so that last-mile connectivity is ensured.

He also suggested that the curriculum in the higher education institutes should be job-ready so that drop-out rates can be curtailed. He pointed out that India’s education expenditure is only 4.6 percent of its total GDP and the government must up it to at least 6 percent.

Alka Goel, founding partner at Alkemi Growth Capital, called for incentives or subsidies linked to job creation for companies. The government can continue to focus on tax rate simplification and tax-related compliances. This could include reduction in GSTs on certain categories, improving subsidies on the adoption of new technology, and increasing the tax exemption limit, she added.

The common Indian’s forever expectation, on the other hand, is that of having more money in hand. According to Nirav Karkera, head of research, Fisdom, what tops common Indian’s wishlist is a revision of the Section 80C limit, which was last raised in 2014 to Rs 1.5 lakh. He also called for a focus on rental housing with the inclusion of house rent as an eligible deduction under the new concessional tax regime.

Tune in to the Budget 2022 Podcast for more

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