"We have got many representations from the industry on raising excise duty exemption limit for MSME and we are looking into it. I would request you to wait till the budget," said Sinha while interacting with captains of industry from Northeastern region through video conferencing from New Delhi. Presently, the excise and service tax exemption limits to the MSMEs are Rs 1.5 crore and Rs 10 lakh, respectively. The industry is demanding that the same be raised to Rs 3-5 crore and Rs 25-30 lakh respectively.
However, the junior finance minister also gave hints that the ensuing Union budget might not have too much of fiscal concessions for the industry. He said since the "target" of the government was to bring down the fiscal deficit, hence "there is no reason or space to have tax concessions."
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He added: "The problem in India is not paying too much but not paying enough tax. Our tax-GDP ratio is barely 15 per cent, whereas the same in developed countries is around 30 to 35 per cent.