10 Important Takeaways for Startups and MSMEs

Source: The Economic Times

The Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, on July 5^th, 2019 presented the Annual Budget for the Financial Year 2019-20 in Parliament. This budget is being said to be futuristic and will have a great impact on Indian Economy in the long run.

However, after the Economic Survey 2018-19 pointed toward the need to incentivize newly established firms to boost job creation, the Finance Minister announced various measures that will help bolster the startup and MSME ecosystem in India.

Below are the most important 10 key takeaways for Startups and MSMEs –

1. An exclusive TV channel has to be started for startups under Doordarshan bouquet to provide a platform for startups to telecast information in the industry.
2. Under the interest subvention scheme,₹ 350 crore shall be allotted for 2% interest subvention to all GST registered MSMEs in the current year on all fresh and incremental loans.
3. A new payment portal for MSMEs has also been proposed. Investment in MSMEs will receive a big boost through this portal if the delays in payments to SMEs and MSMEs are reduced/eliminated.
4. Small retailers with an annual turnover of not more than ₹ 5 crore will get pension benefits under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna. More than 3 crore shop owners will get benefitted with this scheme.
5. Loan of ₹ 1 crore for MSMEs is being cleared just within 59 minutes through an online portal.
6. The startups and new investors who file requisite declarations will not be subjected to any kind of scrutiny in respect of valuation of share premium. A mechanism of e-verification will be made available and with this, the funds raised by these startups will not require any tax scrutiny.
7. To reduce taxpayer harassment, faceless Income Tax assessment in electronic mode involving no human interface is going to be launched this year in a phased manner.
8. Special arrangements will be made by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) for pending reviews and cases related to Startups.
9. Necessary steps will be taken to augment the participation of women in the development of the country. The Finance Minister has also proposed to expand self-help groups (SHG) in all districts and said one woman in every SHG will get a loan of up to ₹ 1 lakh under Mudra Yojana.
10. Food delivery startups like Zomato and Swiggy will have to bear a little increase in operational cost as the government has proposed to increase Special Additional Excise duty and Road and Infrastructure Cess on diesel and petrol by ₹ 1 each.