MADURAI: The Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry has said that the Union Budget 2023-24 which was presented in the Parliament yesterday was very disappointing in several aspects for trade and industry, for the salaried class and for Madurai.
In a press statement issued from Madurai on 1st February 2023, chamber president Dr.N.Jegatheesan has said that none of the expectations of the trade and industry sector have been fulfilled in the union budget and there are only very few positive features. “The trade and industry has already insisted that the current tax exemption limit of Rs.1 crore should be increased to Rs.2 crores under the Income Tax Act 44 AB, it has not been announced. As the national exchequer had collected 13 per cent more than the expected income tax announced in last year’s budget and more than seven crore people had filed income tax returns, this union budget 2023-24 could have given a lot more concessions,” he observed. Dr.Jegatheesan has pointed out that the changes in income tax exemption limit are not enough. “On behalf of trade and industry, our TN Chamber of Commerce has asked the Government of India for extending the GST tax levy exemption of 18 per cent on air freight and 5 per cent on sea freight implemented from October 1st 2022 which had been exempted from GST for 5 years till September 2022. But there is no announcement for the same in yesterday’s budget. This will severely affect the export of perishable commodities like flowers, vegetables and fruits which are airlifted from southern districts of Tamil Nadu in large quantities,” the TN Chamber had pointed out and also added that the allocation of Rs.9,300 crores for rehabilitation of MSMEs is not at all enough because 88 lakh MSME units have been closed due to COVID pandemic effect.
MADURAI METRO, MADURAI AIIMS AND MADURAI AIRPORT?
The TN Chamber president Dr.Jegatheesan had also expressed disappointment that there is no announcement in the budget regarding allocation of funds for development of Madurai airport and the centre’s share of Rs.351 crores for Madurai AIIMS. He also questioned whether there is any allocation for setting up NIPER in Madurai.
“On the whole, while a few concessions have been announced in the Union Budget 2023-24 only for the middle class and lower middle class, the fact remains that there are no concessions or reliefs for the salaried class and for trade and industry sector,” the TN Chamber has said while reacting to the union budget.
