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The Gujarat government on Monday put forward a long list of pending issues with the Central government including rationalisation of indirect taxes, compensation to states on introduction of good and service tax (GST), custom duty waiver on ship breaking and clarity on promoting special economic zones (SEZs). These demand of the state government were discussed pre-budget meeting convened by union finance minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi.
Speaking for Gujarat government, state finance minister Saurabh Patel welcomed efforts of the central government for reforming the indirect tax system that would rationalize tax collection as well as improve economic efficiency. He however, demanded loss to States’ revenues due to switch to GST should be compensated by the Centre and dues of CST should be reimbursed by the central government.
He also felt that there was a need to kick-start the Indian economy by giving an impetus to investments in infrastructure and manufacturing with a focus on employment generation.
He further suggested that the role of Micro, Small & Medium (MSME) enterprises in generating employment and tapping local entrepreneurial talent must be recognised fully by making specific provisions in the union budget and in government policies.
On the issue of custom duty on ship breaking, Patel strongly demanded that government of India consider waiver of custom duty on import of ships and bring it at par with import of melted scrap.
He also requested for anti-dumping duty levy on the ceramic industry as huge imports were taking place from China. To promote the fertilizers industry the minister sought review of the duty structure on raw material for fertilizers.
Another important aspect that the minister wanted the union finance minister to address was the issue of SEZs. Patel said that there was need to bring about clarity in promoting SEZs and export-oriented industries.
“Because of certain tax-related provisions, SEZs have become unattractive and hence a lot of infrastructure of SEZs remains unused,” he explained.
Patel further mentioned that the pending issue of oil royalty needs to be resolved at the earliest and also demanded exemption of tax for urban development authorities which are statutory authorities and performing planning and development functions.
