Comments
The overriding theme of Union Budget 2013-14 is enforcement and collection, according to KPMG in India.
Speakers at a Budget analysis event hosted by KPMG in India opined that the document bares the Finance Minister’s aggressive intent.
AGGRESSIVE INTENT
The event was co-hosted by the Asian School of Business and the Kerala State Council of Confederation of Indian Industry.
Sachin Menon, Partner and National Leader, Indirect Practice, KPMG in India, recalled the unflattering fiscal backdrop to the Union Budget.
But the Finance Minister does not seem to have gone the distance in forcing the issue despite the early aggression.
“As in fixing at Rs 50 lakh the threshold limit for failure to collect or pay that could invite punitary action,” Menon said.
This has been made non-bailable and the offender could be slapped with seven years of imprisonment.
If passed in Parliament in the present format, a commissioner can authorise a superintendent to effect arrest.
This can create a lot of avoidable problems, least of which is the contentious status of a junior officer who executes the arrest.
NOT BACKED UP
Apart from this, there is hardly anything affirmative in the Budget that guarantees a smooth ride in 2013-14 either, Menon said.
Buoyant tax collections of incremental 19 per cent with a targeted 6.1 to 6.7 per cent of GDP growth do not inspire confidence, he said.
“Where are the revenues coming from” he wondered. “Unless he targets you and me,” he added.
If the Finance Minister is vouching by non-tax revenue collections, he is more than likely to be disappointed.
This is because disinvestment revenues of Rs 50,000 crore with as much as Rs 40,000 crore from telecom are a tall order given the state of the industry.
Neither has Reserve Bank shown the inclination to toe his line of making available cheaper capital, at least not just yet.
“All in all, the Finance Minister will be required to do tight-rope walking into the next financial year as well,” Menon said.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.