Domestic Manufacturers Hoping of a Favorable Budget 2018

Currently, importing machinery and manufacturing equipment incur a heavy duty, compared to the duty-free import of finished products like Solar PV modules.

As the administration keeps on the significance of the expanded appropriation of the sustainable power source, the power area seeks after a truly necessary push to domestic equipment manufacturers in the current year’s Union Budget.

As far as solar power, the demand of safeguard duty on imports of solar equipment, if actualized on quick premise, is anticipated to cause noteworthy financial misery in the industry. Consequently, organizations encourage this stay outside the domain of the Union Budget 2018-19.

Aside from this, here are a few desires from the division:

“From the Budget 2018-19, we hope that there are no negative surprises that might stagger this exponential growth. The government should allow enough time for the industry to plan and get prepared for such significant regulatory change and not levy this on an immediate basis to avoid significant financial distress on under construction projects. Additionally, while the direct and indirect tax benefits from the renewable sector have been revoked, we do hope that the corporate taxes will be lowered in Budget 2018, which is in line with the Government’s vision of a lower tax regime,” said Nikunj Ghodawat, CFO, CleanMax Solar.

“Currently, importing machinery and manufacturing equipment incur a heavy duty, compared to the duty-free import of finished products like Solar PV modules. If the upcoming budget was to address the issue, it would be beneficial for the industry and provide the necessitated support for domestic manufacturers to grow. Earmarking financial support in Budget 2018 for the solar manufacturing sector would be welcome, as it will help boost the manufacturing and value chain in the country, and in turn help with the energy security. It would also play a major role in the reduction of any trade balance gap that might exist between India and other countries. Another aspect we expect the budget to address would be the start-ups in the renewable energy sector, who are front-runners in bringing disruptive ideas, technologies, and innovations,” said Dr. Hitesh Doshi, Chairman and Managing Director, Waaree Group.

“There is need to promote Research & Development (R&D) in electric vehicles to make them more efficient and have higher throughput. Looking forward that the government will announce incentives for private companies to invest more in R&D in these fields in Budget 2018. Higher efficiency and power in these vehicles will make it easy for them to become popular,” said Pankaj Munjal, CMD, Hero Cycles.

The budget will be the first after the implementation of GST and last for the NDA led government of its 2014-2015 tenure.

Source: ET Energy World