Tax incentives can attract fresh investments in the State as proved by the State Budget in 1979 when the then Finance Minister announced a five-year sales holiday for industrial units launched from April 1, 1979.
Even a small step like the one taken in 1979 can generate considerable interest from would-be investors, said A. Nisaruddeen, president of the Kerala State Small Industries Association (KSSIA) in a pre-Budget note to Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal.
The association appealed to the Minister to consider ending what it called a “discrimination on the use of stamp paper” when appeals were made in GST cases to various authorities.
The KSSIA also pointed out that although the GST regime came into existence seven years ago, there were cases relating to Value Added Tax (VAT) and the Kerala Sales Tax still pending settlement. There are cases as old as 19 years pending before courts. The association said the Budget should offer an attractive incentive scheme to settle old cases.
Besides, the association said the government should introduce procedures that could be easily understood and without scope for interpretation by bureaucrats.
It also highlighted problems in the software used in GST operations. The association called for settlement of cases in which there were mistakes made not on purpose in filing of GST returns up to March 31, 2020.
It requested the government to instruct the bureaucracy not to take into consideration any mistake in e-way bills if the electronic invoice was available.
In yet another appeal, the association said the GST on biodegradable products and raw materials used for them should be fixed at 12% to encourage local production of such products.
