Slowdown-hit India Inc has wish list ready for next government

NEW DELHI: Hit by a demand slowdown and meltdown in the global economy, India Inc has its wish list ready for the next government, with
Industry sector-specific policy reforms and tax sops on top of the agenda to tide over the crisis.

The ailing export sector, which in October witnessed a decline for the first time in a decade due to the contraction in global trade, has sought an exemption from paying income tax for some five years to deal with the turmoil.

"Since the export sector is an employment-oriented industry, we should be exempted from paying income tax for five years," said A. Sakthivel, president of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO).

"We want a separate policy for the export sector that can be drafted after the government analyses what the global market situation is. The policy should take into consideration what other competing countries are doing," Sakthivel told reporters.

According to the federation, promoted by the commerce ministry, the export sector lost about 500,000 jobs during the third quarter of this fiscal and it was imperative to formulate a separate policy to help arrest this ominous trend.

Another sector that has been a significant contributor both for fresh jobs and exports in the past, the information technology industry, wants the service tax schemes to be simplified and an extension of sops available on exports to spur growth.

Section 10A of the Income Tax Act exempts payment of tax on incomes from any newly established firm in a free trade zone, while section 10B extends a similar sop on income from any newly established 100 percent export-oriented undertaking.