Steps will be taken to ensure that India emerges as a destination that attracts long-term investments, says Anurag Thakur, Minister of State (MoS), Finance and Corporate Affairs. During an interview with Anil Singhvi, Thakur said, “Faceless e-assessment facility for income tax will be officially rolled out on the occasion of Vijayadashami.”

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Should we consider corporate tax cut as the first sixer by this government for the economy and five more sixes is likely to be announced in the recent future?

The world rests on hope. When it comes to a country and its economy then it can’t be limited to T20 match or an over but there is a need for a long inning or a Test match. India should emerge as a destination that attracts people to invest here, which, in turn, will give a boost to investment, industrial growth and employment opportunities. So you should have long-term policies and free of a sunset clause to ensure that those who come here should be here with a long-term vision of what he/she can do in India. But it doesn’t mean that five more sixes will not be hit, it can be done.

Do you have any plan related to income tax exemptions?

Corporate tax rate cut is a big decision and giving tax exemption of up to Rs 1.45 lakh crore in a year is not a small thing, it is a big deal. But it was done to increase investment in the country. As far as individual taxpayers are concerned, then it is our government which has raised the income tax exemption levels from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. I would also like to assure that if any further hikes will be done then it will be made by our government only. 

Any message for SME, MSME and corporate India to boost their confidence? Do you think certain reforms can be announced in the coming days?

The government takes decisions at regular intervals for every sector. For instance, we thought there is a need to decide something on electric vehicles and then we reduced GST rates on it from 12% to 5% and chargers prices were brought down to 5% from 18%. If you have a look a few years back down the line then you will find that the previous government had made a big announcement related to the solar mission but nothing was implemented at the ground level. But after the Paris agreement, PM Modi took its leadership in his hand which resulted into International Solar Alliance. On his return to India, he decided to set up solar power projects in India and a record-breaking work has been done in that direction. For instance, the per-unit cost which stood around Rs 6, around 3-4 years back, has come down to Rs 2.25-2.35/unit and this has happened because its scale has been increased. 

Update us about the steps the government is taking to increase transparency between bureaucracy and corporates?

On August 23, we said that the GST refund arrears of past two years of every account holders will be processed within 30 days and I am happy to inform you that arrears of Rs 10,753 crore, which was pending, of which around Rs 9,700 crore has been returned till date. We have also said that GST refunds of the MSME sector will be made within 60 days and we will ensure that it happens. We have also said that we will launch the faceless e-assessment facility under which the taxpayer remains faceless to the taxman will be officially rolled out on the occasion of ‘Vijayadashami’ this year. We want your pre-field income tax returns to reach to you and we are working on it. We are also working to simplify GST returns. 

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