Budget 2022: MSME sector group hails budget; another trade body dismayed over absence of tax sops

A leading organisation representing Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) on Tuesday praised the Union Budget for 2022-23, saying its proposals are based on "long-term thinking", while another business association expressed disappointment over pandemic-hit salaried class not getting any income tax relief.

MSME sector-linked Association of Industries' MP unit president Pramod Dafaria said, 'The Centre's budget is based on its long-term thinking. It will strengthen MSMEs and boost infrastructure projects. 

A provision of Rs 7.5 lakh crore in the budget, an increase of 35.4 per cent in capital expenditure, will speed up industrial investment and development in the country, he said. 

The Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) that provided much needed additional credit to over 1.3 crore MSMEs will be extended till March 2023 with its guarantee cover expanded by Rs 50,000 crore to Rs 5 lakh crore, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said while presenting the budget in Parliament. 

She said the Credit Guarantee Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) scheme will be revamped with required infusion of funds. 

To help the MSME sector become more resilient, competitive and efficient, Sitharaman said a Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP) programme will be rolled out with a Rs 6,000 crore outlay spread over 5 years. 

Ahilya Chamber of Commerce president Ramesh Khandelwal termed the budget as "too disappointing". 'We were hoping the Centre will reduce income tax rates to give relief to people who have suffered major setbacks because of COVID-19 and high inflation. But there is no change in the income tax slabs," he said. 

Pithampur Audyogik Sangthan president Gautam Kothari welcomed the decision to bring a new law in place of the current Special Economic Zone (SEZ) rule and hoped it will give freedom to new units in SEZs in Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) realised by civic bodies. 

The SEZ located in Pithampur, an industrial town near Indore, is the only multiple-product economic enclave in Madhya Pradesh.