Budget reactions: On women entrepreneurship, tax laws, R&D & more

Budget reactions: On women entrepreneurship, tax laws, R&D & more

Here’s looking at what Indian companies and startups have to say about Budget 2016-17:

Ecommerce companies:

– Anurag Avula, founder and CEO, Shopmatic – “.. In totality we are quite pleased with the startup and entrepreneurial announcements, specifically the Special Patent Regime proposed to power innovation and research that we believe will nurture and mentor the next wave of tech stars that will drive a successful economy.”

Urvesh Goel, founder and CEO, Syberplace – “We do not see Excise exemption for smartphones, to support Digital India and Make in India. Smartphone is the ‘first screen’ for many users accessing internet. This would have reduced pressure on civil infrastructure and propel growth from within. We also had foreseen a larger budget outlay for rolling out 4G and Wi-Fi in smart cities, to be subsidized, if not make them absolutely free. This could reduce the pressure on roads, in shopping malls and reduce gas pollution from vehicles. If homes can double up as home office and shopping, we could reduce investment requirement for commercial property.”

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– Dinesh Agarwal, founder and CEO, IndiaMART – “There are all the right keywords, in the Finance Minister’s 9 Point agenda in this budget. Governance and Ease of Doing Business, Education and Skills, Infrastructure, Financial Sector and Tax reforms reflect dedication towards a pro Technology, Infra and Trade oriented year ahead… The Budget further strengthens the Financial System starting with the recapitalization of Banks…”

– Kiran Murthi, CEO, AskmeBazaar – “.. Taking the “Start-up India” action plan forward, the budget allocated Rs 500 crore for SC/ST & Women entrepreneurs. The announcements made during the budget also include a 100 per cent tax exemption for 3 years for start-ups, which is a welcome step.

The Minister also proposed an amendment of Companies Act to allow new start-ups to register in one day. These steps will help to create a favorable business environment in the country… Also, the Finance Minister reiterated the Government’s focus on rolling out GST. We are hopeful that GST will be a reality soon, thereby ensuring uniformity in tax rates and regulations.”

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Listings companies:

– Sandeep Agrawal, founder and CEO, Droom – “This budget is far from the reforms expected. In the startup ecosystem, entrepreneurs and emerging businesses were hoping for some exciting announcement to encourage entrepreneurism and innovations. However, the silver lining was the announcement for women and SC/ST entrepreneur with Rs 500 crore allotments.

It would be nice to see offering R&D credits and lower costs for innovations. Listing rules should have been further streamlined for startups. Repatriation of capital (R&D Credit from foreign countries) should be more accessible.”

– Vineet Singh, Co-founder & CEO of Buildzar – “.. The enhanced investment in infrastructure will help us in reaching to a wider consumer base in housing which is unserviceable today. We are happy that the FM went took a step further in the direction shown at Startup India and announced Tax holiday for startups for setting up the business. There were some disappointments as well, particularly of indirect taxation. Our sector has to grapple with various taxes like VAT/WCT, CST, excise, and service taxes. A uniform approach for tax laws and regulatory policies would have helped. GST implementation should be taken up in a time bound manner.”

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Online Video:

– Subrat Kar, co-founder, Vidooly – “Increasing the ease of doing business by amending the companies act, changes in the patent law and tax deductions is a great step in ensuring that startups are not bogged down with paperwork and bureaucracy. Also encouraging digital literacy in educational institutions will lead to employment generation and ensure that a billion plus indians use the web towards the aim of a digital economy.”

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– NASSCOM – “…Extension of Section 10AA for SEZ units till 2020 is a positive outcome though the imposition of MAT on startups will not allow the full impact of the benefits to be realized. Holding period for investment in unlisted companies to qualify for long terms capital gains tax reduced from 3 to 2 years. Our recommendation was for 1 year in line with investments in listed shares. Equalisation levy on consideration for any specified service received or receivable by a person, being a non-resident. Specific service currently includes online and digital advertisement… The Budget did not address R&D credits not applicable for technology sector, lowering of deduction rate not conducive to encouraging tech R&D.”

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Startups:

– Varun Khaitan, co-founder, UrbanClap – “More than being a pro-startup Budget as was expected, the financial layout for FY 2016-17 has taken into account the need to create entrepreneurs across the digital divide… For emerging businesses there’s a slew of incentives to encourage angel investment and startup activity, in the process, create additional jobs.. Startups look to gain from the government focus on employment and employability. Change in the definition of SME, focused intent on the GST bill and added infrastructure spending are all boosters for the economic environment and startups stand to gain from them.. ”

– Saurav Kumar, CEO & Co-Founder, Cube26 –

“… While the union budget 2016 has announced lowering of the corporate tax for new manufacturing units incorporated on or after March 1, 2016 at 25% with a view to promote industrial activity and generate jobs, we were expecting a robust approach to incentivize Indian device manufacturers.

The special patent regime with 10% rate of tax on income from worldwide exploitation of patents developed and registered in India is a step in the right direction to boost innovation. We hope the patent process in India for indigenous companies become simpler as well to boost a culture of innovation and research…”