PR No – 62
6th February, 2025
New Delhi
With this budget, the govt is putting the money back in the economy, says revenue & finance secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey at the PHDCCI’s Post Budget Session
Sh Tuhin Kanta Pandey, IAS, Finance Secretary & Revenue Secretary, Government of India addressed the PHDCCI members during the Post Budget Session on Union Budget 2025 – 26, held today at PHD House, New Delhi. While addressing the event, the Revenue Secretary, accepted PHDCCI’s request for more frequent interactions with the industry on the Budget. We are investing wisely from last year, our borrowing of ₹15.68 lakh crore has not grown, and a major part of it which is of around ₹15.48 lakh crore has already been put into Capex, said, Mr. Pandey.
Mr. Pandey further highlighted that, as per Hon’ble PM guidance this Budget was pro-people, pro-growth, and pro-taxpayers. Some key issues addressed are how to propel growth, as India is one of the fastest growing economies, it is not a globally encouraging environment today, and for our Viksit Bharat vision, there should be equitable growth that meets demography and demand, added Mr Pandey.
He further discussed, the four core engines for this Budget are agriculture, MSME, investment, and exports. In the case of MSME, we need to really look at all issues; we need to work on credit guarantees, marketing, and how MSMEs can participate in export growth more effectively.
There isn’t any sector that hasn’t been touched this year and around ₹20,000 crore has been allocated to the R&D sector. From promotion of Hybrid seeds, PM Dhan Dhanya scheme- raising the limit from 3 lakh to 5 lakh for Kisan Credit Card, we have taken a series of measures. And in this, we believe that tax policy should run parallelly, as the combined momentum will be far greater than the individual one. The governance today is self-governing; it is no longer a separate entity of government and citizens. He was happy that voluntary compliance has been a huge success we have around ₹90 lakh crore filed, and around ₹8-9 crore of tax has come voluntarily, added Mr Pandey.
He requested the PHDCCI’ members that entrepreneurs must take risks, and the government needs their support and spirit to rise. He asked them to build institutions, create employment, and generate jobs, as growth will not come anonymously and let’s make ourselves competitive efficiently. Further, he assured that the new upcoming Income Tax Bill will be truly exceptional.
Sh Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, Chairman, Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs spoke about the rationalization of the customs duty structure and some history of the exercise. He informed about the magnitude and outcome of this exercise. He added that the effective duty incidence has been kept at a low level by the AIDC schedule.
He further informed that 37 new medicines have been added, which are imported under the Patient Assistance Program. Further, waste and scrap of 12 critical minerals have been exempted. Similarly, for capital goods, cells for the manufacture of EVs and mobile phones have also been exempted. To promote exports, nine items have been added to the list for the manufacturing of handicrafts. Exempting duty on crust leather has also been done. Import duty on wet leather has been reduced from 10% to nil.
Similarly, the voluntary declaration filed by importers is a big relief, and procedural simplifications in customs have also been introduced, he added.
To make India a cost-effective solution provider, all stakeholders need to work in a collaborative manner to identify bottlenecks and seize the opportunities happening in the global scenario, concluded Mr. Agarwal.
Mr. Hemant Jain, President, PHDCCI, called the budget 2025-26 a historic Budget and said that the key focus areas in the Budget 2025-26 are major ingredients of development.
The focus on the middle class and MSMEs will enhance consumption and production segments, boost private investments, and create employment opportunities. As I said before, it’s like a sixer on a full-toss ball, these areas will drive growth, improve infrastructure, enhance governance, and ensure sustainable development across various sectors, said Mr. Jain.
He further added that we appreciate the government’s commitment to climate transition, including its emphasis on nuclear energy, innovation, and ease of doing business. The Budget aligns with the government’s strategy of “big” and “bold” initiatives to propel India’s progress towards Viksit Bharat.
Lastly, Mr Jain said that a lot can be done for MSMEs, as we have around 63 million MSMEs in the country, we request that a helpline be set up for them and that it be reviewed on a quarterly basis.
Mr. Mukul Bagla, Chair, Direct Taxes Committee, PHDCCI informed that many suggestions given by PHDCCI have been incorporated into this Budget. There is more positive rationalization of slabs, and zero tax up to an income of ₹12 lakh is a welcome step. It has done a lot for the morale of the middle class.
As the FM recently announced, a new simplified tax law will be introduced in a few weeks, and we are excited about it. The extension of the sunset clause for startups, rationalization of tax provisions, relaxation for charitable trusts, and EODB- these are things the PHDCCI has really requested, and a lot has been done in this Budget. The rationalization of the TDS threshold limit is also commendable, added Mr. Bagla.
One thing we want to request is that for the filing of updated returns, there should be a cap of 60%, and some sort of statutory limit should be put in the Income Tax Act for faceless appeals. Another request is rectification in CBC, concluded Mr. Bagla.
Mr. Pramod Rai, Chair, Indirect Taxes Committee, PHDCCI discussed that this Budget is really progressive regarding indirect tax changes. The changes in duty rates on the customs side will boost the domestic market, and exports will go up.
Mr. Rai added, as far as the law is concerned, taxpayers have, for the first time been given the right to modify the shipping bill post-clearance of goods, which earlier was very tedious. It now allows the correction of factual errors and legal mistakes. When it comes to the implementation of laws and adjudication forums, Mr. Rai further requested that they should be made fully functional.
Dr Ranjeet Mehta, CEO & Secretary General, PHDCCI called the Budget 2025 as a defining moment in India’s economic trajectory as it is rooted in fiscal prudence and growth acceleration.
He added, PHDCCI is celebrating 120 years of its legacy, and this event couldn’t be a better example of collaborative governance.