ICEA Calls Union Budget 2022-23 as Bold And Confident

ICEA welcomes the Union Budget 2022-23. At a macro level, it is a very bold Budget.  The expenditure of Rs. 39.45 lakh crore, particularly capital expenditure of Rs.7.05 lakh crore, will propel the economy towards a high growth rate, which is the need of the nation.  The containment of the fiscal deficit of the Budget of last year to 6.9% is a remarkable feat in light of the Covid pandemic and also revenue buoyancy.

Chairman, Mr. Pankaj Mohindroo, stated, “the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s bold and robust extension of the PLI Schemes, which were pioneered by ICEA, including the latest one declared for high efficiency PV module (solar) with a budget of Rs.19,500 crores, is remarkable. We also welcome the PLI scheme for design-led manufacturing for building a strong ecosystem for 5G. The PMP for hearables and wearables is a great step.

Further, the extension of the Section 115 BAB provision of 15% for newly incorporated manufacturing companies is another excellent step to promote the much-needed manufacturing sector.

The aspiration to build a capital goods industry is again an excellent step.  We will have to be very careful not to impose import duty on capital goods which do not need any protection, and are not being manufactured in India.”

While ICEA welcomes the reduction in duty on parts of transformers of chargers, as well as lens as part of camera module, a long road remains, especially for the continued high basic customs duty for high-end mobile phones (i.e. phones with a CIF value higher than Rs. 20,000). We emphasise that rationalisation of the BCD is essential to curb the grey market, increase revenue generation, and give a fillip to the industry.