Trade associations seek new measures in Rajasthan Budget

They favour connecting MGNREGA works with industry

The trade and industry bodies in Rajasthan have sought new measures and concessions in the State Budget for 2022-23 and urged the Gehlot Government to examine the scope for connecting the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MGNREGA) works with the industry. A reference was also made to the hardships faced during the pandemic.

At a pre-Budget consultation with the officials of the Finance and Commercial Taxes Department here, the trade and industry representatives said the stamp duty and district-level committee rates should be rationalised for the real estate operators and builders. The reduction in electricity duty and fire cess were among the other demands raised at the interaction.

The textiles associations pointed out the benefits of connecting the flagship employment scheme with the industry in order to make the workforce available to different sectors and provide livelihood opportunities to the villagers. The State Government had recently reached out to the mill owners to resolve the issues of electricity duty on captive power plants and wheeling charges on power purchased from open access.

The officials of the two departments, led by Principal Finance Secretary Akhil Arora, interacted with the representatives of industry bodies as part of a series of consultations with different sectors till the State Budget’s formulation.

The iron and steel manufacturers demanded that the reverse charge mechanism for goods and services tax be applied to the scrap and priority be given in the purchases made by the State Government. The agriculture, food and oilseed trade associations sought measures to compensate for the losses incurred during the pandemic through exemption from mandi duty and tax on raw material.

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