nThe small and tiny industries in Tamil Nadu, reeling under heavy crisis due to a host of issues has come out with an action plan to revive the sector through a series of measures to revive and reenergise the units.
Tamil Nadu Small and Tiny Industries Association (TANSTIA), an umbrella organisation representing six lakh units that employ more than a crore workers have asked the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman to offer some relief which the former hopes would not only save the workers but create more jobs.
“Policies like demonetisation, GST and natural disasters like Chennai floods, landslides and Covid-19 have broken the backbone of these small and tiny units. If the government is willing to offer the sector some relief measures, it is going to be a win-win situation for all,” said S Vasudevan, general secretary, TANSTIA.
The representation submitted by TANSTIA to the Finance Minister requests certain concessions in taxes and offering some additional tax benefits to the small and tiny industries sector which S Anburuajan, president, |TANSTIA describes as inborn issues.
“We give special consideration to infants in the families which face health issues. This special consideration is offered to bring such children back to normalcy,” said Anburajan.
The list of demands by TANSTIA include a separate income tax slab for the micro and small enterprises. As on date all industries are charged 25 per cent tax. But we would like the government to bring down the tax rate for micro units to 15 per cent and the small sector to 20 per cent, said the 23 point charter of demands submitted by the sector to the Finance Minister. It has pleaded that the maximum interest rates on loans availed by the MSME units from Banks and Non-Banking Financial Companies should be capped at eight per cent.
The women entrepreneurs who come forward to set up units should be given tax incentives so that more women would come forward which in turn would lead to generation of more jobs, said the memorandum. The TANSTIA and other organisations representing medium and small industries have been pleading with the Centre for reasonable concessions for the revival of the sector.
The TANSTIA has submitted a memorandum that has listed 22 other demands also include the setting up of a separate MSME Board which would offer solutions to the grievances faced by the sector on a day-to-day basis, low premium insurance exclusively to the sector, legislation of a policy which makes it mandatory for all Multi National Corporations (MNCs) to procure 50 per cent of the components needed for their manufacturing from them MSMEs.
The association’s demand list include framing of rules that offer an easy exit policy to the entrepreneurs who find it difficult to sustain the units set up by them. “A promoter who finds the unit unviable and unsustainable should have the freedom to wind it up without any delay,” said Anburajan. This has been a long standing demand by the MSME units but opposed by the militant trade unions and politicians in the country.
The entrepreneurs have also demanded that all units whose annual turnover is less than Rs two crore be liberated from the shackles of GST.
“We offer a vibrant and profitable MSME sector, if the union government expresses its readiness to implement the demands. We reiterates that it is going to be a win-win situation for all stakeholders if these demands find positive response, “ said Vasudevan.’
