Even as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday assured the corporate sector that the Government will take measures to improve the 'ease of doing business' environment, the industry called for a non-adversarial tax environment and lower rates to boost economy.
In the customary pre-Budget consultation with the Finance Minister, the industry demanded increase in public spending in the infrastructure sector and expediting the reform process to promote 'Make in India' campaign.
Admitting that the manufacturing growth is still patchy, Jaitley in his opening remarks said, "we still have lot of distance to cover. Ease of doing business is high priority for the Government. We are working on a task given by the Prime Minister to improve India's ranking."
He also said that implementation of GST is expected to improve the tax administration regime and would help in bringing more transparency in the system and ensure smooth flow of goods.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, Ficci President Jyotsna Suri said that efforts should be made to move away from the aggressive revenue approach and provide "a genuine non-adversarial and conducive tax environment" for industry and economy to flourish.
"I requested for rationalisation of tax regime. There is a revenue target given to tax officers and because they have to attain that, they often use irrational tax demands and use coercive methods. They should be judged on their performance and not on their achievement of targets," she said.
Yes Bank CEO and Assocham President Rana Kapoor said the Government should embark on a five-year systemic programme for disinvestment, especially for non-strategic sectors with a rolling list of targets and aim to disinvest each year equal to about 0.5 per cent of the GDP.
The major suggestions include fiscal consolidation, promoting investment, containing inflation and facilitating ease of doing business among other.