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Lower costs of finance and larger role for lenders in deciding the total project cost are couple of the key demands of road developers from this Budget.
“If banks don’t pass on lower cost of funds to us, may be the government can provide a direct subsidy,” K Ramchand, MD, IL&FS Transportation Network Ltd told BusinessLine .
Ramchand added that the total project cost and the independent engineer should be decided by banks, the biggest stakeholders.
Independent engineers, who report to the NHAI, provide the project completion certificates, which are linked to the milestone payments received by the developers.
Meanwhile, Sandeep Reddy, president, National Highway Builders Association, has sought to link the toll revenue with a mix of wholesale price index and consumer price index, in the backdrop of prolonged negative WPI.
Egis India said the government should consider a single-window solution. To encourage Make in India, they should provide land in India, the company added.
“As an investor from the UK, the US or Europe, how do I take a part of my investment back? With 22-24 per cent tax on dividend, the returns erode, and how long should I be reinvesting,” asked Ashish Tandon, CEO, Egis India, which is the subsidiary of a French firm. Egis also called for ease of tax returns — with returns coming after 4-5 years, it impacts the cash flow.
Logistics players such as Transport Corporation of India, Blackbuck and Vamaship have sought implementation of goods and service tax and upgradation of transportation infrastructure.
The Shipping Ministry, meanwhile, is finalising a transhipment policy, which will define a transhipment port as one that handles more than 50 per cent of such cargo. The relaxation will be for movement of empty containers and export-import containers, providing cabotage relaxation. It has sought ₹3,200 crore for improving inland waterways infrastructure.
On the port side, APM Terminals called for a thrust on coastal shipping. “Given that in 2015 Budget there was a clear thrust on how inland infrastructure should grow, the government should focus more on promoting coastal shipping in this Budget,” said Keld Pedersen, MD, APM Terminals, Pipavav.
“Coastal shipping has developed much more (globally) than it has in India and there is a lot of opportunity to capitalise. Relaxation of cabotage policy by the Shipping Ministry has added a lot of positive hope in the industry. We already have container coastal shipping servicesindependent of ro-ro coastal shipping.”
Chinta Sasidhar, Managing Director, Krishnapatnam Port, has asked for restoration of service tax exemption for construction of ports which was withdrawn in February last year.
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