Budget 2023 Wishlist: Tax benefits, ramping up EV architecture, FAME II subsidy extension and more

By Vipin Vijayan | First Published Jan 27, 2023, 4:05 PM IST

With just days to go for Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to present her Union Budget, expectations galore from India Inc, including startups and unicorns. Asianet Newsable reached out to them to know their wishlist for the Finance Minister. Here is what they had to say:

Mridu Mahendra Das
Co-founder & CEO of Automovill

"Impending recession and negative sentiments in the market have been a great concern for growth-stage startups. Demands for higher margins and lean structure from stakeholders and the investment ecosystem make the startup journey tough for any charismatic results. This could be the time when the government could do its best to boost Startups, MSME sectors and entrepreneurs vying for growth post-pandemic. We strongly support the GST regime. However, at the same time, MSMEs/Startups also need flexibility in filings. Working in B2B environments and long-standing contracts makes regulatory filings difficult, which needs more freedom in terms of time and options.

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"Coming to the Automotive and specially aftersales segment, the entire sector is reeling under tremendous pressure against the availability of spares and low spending of consumers. For better customer satisfaction, we need support for facilitating the availability of imported spares, relaxation on rules by insurance companies and curbs on vehicular lifetime management. Reducing the GST norms for billing on labour, especially in the after-sales ecosystem, is always a demand. Labour rates should be at 5% GST like the service charges in some other industries (i.e. hotels). Most of the auto workers lie in the bottom of the pyramid; reducing GST on labour to 5% will boost the income and livelihood opportunities as well as create more entrepreneurs in the segment."

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Muzammil Riyaz
Founder, EVeium Smart Mobility

"The Indian government has launched policies and measures to incentivise the EV industry, but the same can only be leveraged when a parallel charging infrastructure is developed. While we are encouraging people to opt for EVs through subsidies and incentivization, in the end, only a hassle-free experience can sustain the trust of the consumers.

"We expect the government to accelerate the same by allocating budgets to ramp up EV architecture that is competent, connected, and sustainable. Moreover, there is an immediate requirement to spread awareness about the auto scrappage policy in order to spur the phasing out of end-of-life vehicles, which can assist in steering EV purchases even further."

Mukesh Taneja
Co-founder & CEO, GT Force

"While multiple regulations for the auto industry are anticipated in the upcoming Budget, the central emphasis should remain on the evolving electric vehicle space, given its potential to decarbonize India’s transportation industry. As the EV sector may witness yet another volatile supply chain disruption if the key markets experience a downturn, so we highly await calculated EV-friendly policies in Budget 2023 that can aid in maintaining the industry’s ongoing solid growth momentum."

Rajesh Saitya
Co-founder & COO, GT Force

"A crucial necessity for EV penetration is to facilitate a vast system of charging points; thus, there is also a massive need to mandate the installation of EV charging points in all existing and upcoming housing estates and commercial properties. Moreover, we are optimistic that the FAME II subsidy will be extended well beyond 2024 in order to maintain consumer demand and accelerate EV implementation beyond metro cities."

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Anmol Bohre,
Co-founder & Managing Director of Enigma

"The proliferation of electric vehicles exemplifies their growing popularity, as indicated by previous sales figures and the visibility of the number of EV vehicles on the roads. What’s more encouraging is that electric two-wheelers are paving the way for the greater adoption of electric vehicles in India. Despite being a large market, the government must prioritise research over sales if India is to become a world leader in this technology.

"Incentives should be allocated for collaborations with universities to advance the R&D of EV technology. Recent controversies involving the alleged misappropriation of funds under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles (FAME) subsidy program highlight the need for careful consideration of the long-term consequences of such incentives. Therefore it would be beneficial to allocate the FAME subsidies directly to customers’ accounts.

As the growth of the EV industry depends on charging infrastructure, designated funds for the development of charging stations along major roads, both national and state, are required. In this regard, financial provisions to establish solar-powered charging stations in collaboration with the government to achieve zero-emission capabilities for electric vehicles is highly desirable."

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Siddharth Kabra,
Co-Founder & CEO - VoltUp

"Battery swapping attracts 18% GST while EV has a GST of 5%. I wish the Finance Minister would bring the battery swapping GST at par with EV to 5%. This will be a boon for the price-sensitive 3-wheeler and 2-wheeler market and its users."

"I hope the Finance Minister considers adding the battery swapping industry as a category to FAME policy to enable robust battery production in the country and give a boost to Atmanirbhar Bharat. As swapping requires a high deployment of batteries for being always available and a dense swapping network, start-ups should be able to claim benefits of FAME policies to make it far easier for the consumer."

NK Minda,
CMD, Uno Minda Ltd

"The government has taken a lot of good initiatives in the last few years; the Production Linked Incentive scheme for the auto component industry is one among them. But there are a few suggestions that can further drive the auto component industry ahead. First, improving GST structure by bringing all components tax structure at standard 18 per cent to avoid disputes and ambiguities. Secondly, incentivising R&D in the sector by providing tax benefits, as the EV segment needs support in terms of R&D. This will boost the make-in-India and Atmanirbhar Bharat vision."

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