BackIndustry Demand : Budget 2007
Industry Demand : Budget 2007
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Animation/Gaming
1.Animators producing for the Indian market should be treated on par with those targeting export markets, in terms of tax treatment
2.A 10-year tax holiday; the removal of the 36.8% import duty on the high-end machines used for production and the 12% service tax
3.Reduce the 36.74% import duty on gaming consoles
Automobile
1.Extend 16% excise duty applicable to small cars to all passenger vehicles
2.Define small cars only on the basis of length
3.Levy zero customs duty on equipment imported for research and development
4.Exempt items used in manufacturing of export goods from central sales tax
5.Grant income tax exemption on car loan repayments on par with housing loans
6.Cut excise duty on two & three wheelers to 8%
7.Reduce excise on LPG/ CNG, hybrid and other alternative fuel vehicles
8.Cut duties on safety seat belts, air bags, anti-lock breaking systems to 5%
9.Give tax breaks on scrapping vehicles older than 10 years
10.Raise import duty on commercial vehicles (new and used) from 12.5% to 40%
11.Extend weighted deduction of 150% of R&D spend for income tax
purposes for another 10 years.
Auto components
1.Maintain customs duty on auto parts at 12.5%.
2.Reduce excise on auto parts to 8%
3.Increase abatement on maximum retail price on components to 50%
4.Scrap the central sales tax
5.Extend tax breaks on research and development for another ten years
6.Grant tax holidays for auto component sector investments more than ₹ 50 crore
7.Exempt customs duty on raw materials imported for making goods
which attract zero duty under free trade agreements
8.Grant virtual SEZ status and benefits to all existing export-oriented units (EoUs)
Aviation
1.Rationalize sales tax on aviation turbine fuel. ATF in India sells 77% higher than international prices owing to high taxes. On lines of a similar sop given to carriers flying internationally, domestic airlines want a 4% flat sales tax countrywide. Also, they want excise dropped to 4% and customs duty reduced
2.Review tax rules that allow airlines exemption from withholding tax. Carriers are exempt from withholding tax on rental paid on planes leased before March 2007. Airlines want the exemption to continue.
3.Exempt certain items from fringe benefit tax. Keep out free travel for airline employees and family, expenses for crew, hotel accommodation for passengers due to delays, and expenses on catering and in-flight entertainment from the ambit of FBT
4.Remove service tax for economy and business class tickets for international travel, remove 10.2% service tax on landing fees, airport and navigation fees
5.Allow companies to hedge fuel costs
Broadcasting
1.Do away with double taxation of broadcasters (service tax and entertainment tax)
2.Abolish entertainment tax for the cable TV sector
3.Abolish additional customs duty of 4% on components of set top boxes (STB) and associated items such as viewing cards
4.Reduce excise duty on manufacture of STBs to 8%
5.Impose customs duty of 5% on imported STBs (from current zero import duty)
6.Remove basic customs duty on imported digital head-end equipment (used by cable TV companies) from the present 12.5%
Cement
1.Exempt all cement used to construct roads from excise duty and sales tax
2.Encourage the use of blended cement in Golden Quadrilateral projects
3.Remove 16% excise duty on slag
4.Reduce excise duty on cement to ₹ 250 from ₹ 408 per tonne
5.Reduce the royalty on limestone charged
6.Exempt excise duty on goods supplied for the development of special economic zones
7.Abolish import duty on petroleum coke, a key input
8.Permit the import of tyre chips to be used as alternative fuel
9.Abolish duties/levies on captive power generation
10.Withdraw fringe benefit tax on promotional expenditure
Consumer durables
1.Remove inverted duty structure that levies higher duty on components than the finished product, especially with reference to certain imports from countries such as Thailand, with which India has a free trade agreement
2.Simplify multiple taxes such as education cess, special additional duties and octroi on the gross import duty and introduce a single tax structure
3.Boost research & development by giving tax exemption on in-house research & development expenses to all sectors
Fast moving consumer goods
1.Reduce average incidence of tax from current level of 25% to under 10%
2.Institute tax sops for technology upgradation and R&D in food processing
3.Rationalize excise duty for other processed foods such as ready to eat packaged foods, instant food mixtures and agrobased products from the current 16% to 8% in some cases and from 8% to nil in others.
4.Abolish fringe benefit tax, at least in the case of promotional spends.
5.Introduce uniform VAT (value added tax) rate in case of processed foods.
Hospitality and tourism
1.Provide infrastructure and industry status to industry and
2.10-year tax holidays
3.Reintroduce depreciation rate of 20% that was reduced to 10%
4.Eliminate service tax for hotels
5.Remove punitive fringe benefit tax on conveyance and travel
6.Remove double taxation on banquet sales -- service tax on food and beverages as well as VAT; charge only VAT
Information technology
1.Extend Software Technology Parks of India scheme beyond March 2009. The scheme, which grants software and BPO (business process outsourcing) companies a 100% tax break on export income, may be discontinued in fiscal 2010 with new special economic zones coming up, Nasscom fears
2.Exempt foreign companies that have BPO operations here from tax on their income; incidence of tax, if any, should be limited to the local BPO unit, not its foreign parent
3.Introduce a system of consolidated tax returns for group entities
4.Rationalise transfer pricing rules. Use of data from up to five years should be allowed while checking if prices are at an ‘arm’s length’ or fair by global trade laws. Create an Advance Pricing Agreement mechanism whose decisions on tax are binding
5.Provide subsidy for semiconductor projects. Besides the tax and capital subsidy announced last week, fab projects want support for technology acquisition, training and R&D costs
6.Remove central sales tax on all IT products
7.Change duty structure to encourage domestic hardware manufacturing. Reduce excise duties on integrated circuits, resistors and DVD writers from 16%. Retain the 12% ‘reduced’ excise duty on computers and set-top boxes, and the zero excise levy on DVDs and CDs
Infrastructure
1.Offer ready-made large infrastructure projects, after all approvals have been received and pre-feasibility studies, done for competitive bidding
2.Grant 100% tax holiday benefit for any 10 consecutive years during the first 15 years after the commencement of commercial production/operations
3.Fund all power and petroleum subsidies from the exchequer to eliminate cross-subsidies so that energy is available to industry and transport sectors at globally competitive rates
4.Focus on developing world-class infrastructure facilities in the industrial clusters
5.Remove cross subsidies in rail transport
6.Give logistics, industry status and treat companies in this sector on par with infrastructure companies
7.Liberalise captive power generation and coal mining and remove restrictions and levies imposed by the state governments on captive power generation
8.Phase out all cross subsidies in pricing of oil and electricity
9.Give infrastructure status to renewable energy projects
Music
1.Ensure every CD plant should have a unique identification code
2.Rationalise tax deduction on sources of royalty payments
3.Allow companies to write off cost of acquisition of music rights for tax purposes
4.Make VAT rates uniform across India
Pharma
1.Reduce excise duty on allopathic as well as ayurvedic drugs and pharmaceuticals from the present level of 16% to 8%
2.Cenvat credit on capital goods deployed for R & D activity installed within the factory premises or outside factory premises should be allowed
3.Transfer of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) should be exempt under Section 10 of the Income Tax Act.
4.Enhance R&D benefits. Extend 150% deduction on R&D expenses that ends this March, by up to 15 years
5.Make expenditure on overseas regulatory approvals eligible for deduction.
6.Allow deduction of money spent on land, building and regulatory approvals in US and Europe
7.Create an R&D fund for small firms to which private sector can contribute and get a 200% deduction.
8.Remove customs, excise duty and service tax on expenses on capital goods and other expenses at R&D units.
9.Reduce duties on life saving medicines. Select life saving drugs should be exempt from VAT and customs duty; they attract 5-12.5% duty now.
10.Make naphtha cheaper. Import duty on naphtha, a basic ingredient in drugs, be reviewed as rival China allows naphtha at zero duty.
11.Grant infrastructure status to the healthcare industry to attract private investment.
Ports
1.Abolish present system of tax on accrued income basis for seafarers; introduce fixed rate of tax
2.Import 5% income tax on all seafarers irrespective of their residential status
3.Exempt Indian shipping firms from withholding taxes on charter hire payments to foreign ship owners
4.Allow ship owners to import spares and repair equipment directly for carrying out repairs in India without paying customs duty
5.Remove 5% customs duty on import of vessels
6.Reduce lease tax/VAT on charter hire charges in all Indian states should be zero. Ship spares provided to overseas going Indian ships also should not attract VAT
Real estate
1.Extend tax exemption by three years for developers who build units of less than 1000 sq. ft. in metros and 1500 sq. ft. in other areas. The provision, which is meant to encourage developments for middle-class and lower-middle class buyers, expires on March 31.
2.Institute lower, uniform stamp duty rates across the country
3.Remove service tax on construction activity
4.Reduce excise duty on cement and steel
5.Assign infrastructure status to housing industry. Exempt developers who redevelop slums or build other low-price housing projects from excise and sales tax and stamp duty
Retail
1.Allow 100% FSI (floor space index; a measure of how much land can be used for construction) for designated retail projects
2.Organized retail should be allowed to work 24x7x365, thus exempt from the applicable provisions of related acts and rules
3.Establish a single window for all statutory clearances, licenses and permission
4.Allow part-time employment in retail
5.Institute 100% stamp duty concession and waive registration fee for purchase/lease of land or building for retail
6.Treat retail as an ‘industry’ and should be eligible for capital subsidy benefits. All retail training services also must be entitled to industry status and become eligible for all concessions and incentives applicable to industries
7.Exempt private label products manufactured and sold by retailers from excise
Telecommunications
1.Reduce incidence of licence fees, spectrum, access deficit
2.Charges, education cess and other levies from 21-28% of revenues to enable a better roll out of rural services. Cellular operators want it down to 6%, fixed line firms to 11-13%.
3.Reduce service tax from the current 12%.
4.Eliminate stamp duties. Direct state governments not to treat infrastructure such as towers as commercial goods and not charge stamp duties on them.
5.Exempt broadband capital equipment from tax, import duty and entertainment tax.
Source: Confederation of Indian industry, national association of software and service companies, consumer electronics and television manufacturers association and other industry associations.
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