WISHING FOR MORE

eagerly awaits sector-specific announcements, despite constantly lobbying for changes throughout the year By Ashish Sinha

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AS THE countdown for the Union Budget 2025 begins, the annual ritual of industry spelling out its wish-list is in full swing. Every year, India Inc. present its hopes and aspirations, and eagerly awaits the Finance Minister's big reveal. Yet, for all the pomp and circumstance, one can't help but notice the irony. While the budget is hailed as a game-changer, industry players seem to forget all about it the moment the ink dries. Within months, we hear the same requests—sector-specific favours, tax tweaks, and policy indulgences—coming thick and fast. It's almost as if the budget is a fleeting moment of euphoria before everyone goes back to lobbying for the next “urgent” change. So let's remember: the finance minister might get a standing ovation, but the real applause goes to the never-ending wish list! For the up-coming budget, once again, the industry and experts have put together a well-meaning list of demands, which once accepted, promises to put India's mighty economic engine into a higher gear, hopefully, more efficiently.

Tax Reforms & Compliance

As D-Day approaches, once again India Inc. is voicing its demand for streamlining taxation and easing compliance norms to boost growth and investment. Divya Baweja, Partner at Deloitte India, underscores the need to simplify tax compliance for property transactions involving non-residents (NRIs). “Buyers should not be burdened with inactive TANs for one-off transactions. Simplified TDS processes similar to those for resident sellers would help,” Baweja notes. He also recommends enabling tax payments from overseas bank accounts and extending e-verification options to foreign mobile numbers, saying, “These changes will ease administrative hassles for taxpayers and encourage compliance.” Additionally, crediting tax refunds to overseas bank accounts would alleviate issues faced by NRIs who close their Indian accounts, making the system more efficient.