BHUBANESWAR: Industry and trade bodies in the State expressed disappointment over the Union Budget 2012 presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday stating that it would breed inflation once again and negatively impact the common man.The Budget fell far short of the expectation of the trade and industry, which had counted on reduction of Excise duty on both service and industry sectors. On the contrary, the Excise duty has been raised by 2 per cent from 10.2 to 12.24 per cent which will not only affect the industry and commerce, but more importantly the consumers, the Utkal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UCCI) stated.UCCI president Ramesh Mohapatra said the sector had also pinned hopes on reduction of Corporate Tax to a flat slab of 25 per cent. This would have increased compliance and ensured better revenue generation for the Government.The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises sector being the second largest employer after agriculture should have got interest subvention at a level of 9-11 per cent against the prevailing 14-17 per cent. This would have gone a long way in increasing competitiveness. But it was not to be.“The setting up of the Rs 5,000 crore Venture Fund for MSMEs would also not benefit the sector much as by being governed by SIDBI, the procedure for obtaining funds from the scheme would be too cumbersome. Previous experience on such Venture Funds has been abysmal for local entrepreneurs”, Mohapatra said.There has been improved allocation for the infrastructure and service sectors. Although there is marginal improvement in allocation of funds for agriculture, it is not adequate to meet the goals of food security.The CII, Odisha State Council, has also termed the Budget inflationary in the short-term. In the immediate aftermath, the hike in Excise duty and Service Tax will lead to price rise ultimately affecting the common man. In the long run though, the fiscal measures will prove stabilising for the economy, vice-chairman of CII, Odisha State Council, M K Gupta said.The industry body, however, said the Budget was more of a routine exercise without offering anything significant to the sectors across the board. The increase in IT exemption limit from Rs 1.80 lakh to Rs 2 lakh will make no difference. The reduction of EPF interest rate by 1.25 per cent is an absolute downer, Gupta said. However, the increased thrust on infrastructure and allied sectors is welcome, he added.
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