The government announced that it is expanding the solarisation of grid-connected and standalone agricultural pumps. This is a positive step, which will encourage domestic manufacturing. Merchandise exports are very important for any economy to create jobs, and in order to boost the same, the Government announced that it will reimburse indirect taxes such as excise duty on fuel, electricity duty incurred by exporters. This is a positive development for ingenious exporters.
Additionally, Hon’ble FM announced that the Government is planning to launch a new scheme to promote the manufacturing of Network Products (Electronics, Semiconductors, medical devices, etc.) especially for the purpose of exports. While we await the details of the scheme, it appears a step further on the right path.
Having said this, the budget fell short of addressing fiscal conditions of state discoms, and we hope that the Ministry of Power and MNRE together engage with state governments to address this issue. Details on levying 20% Basic Custom Duty on import of Solar Cells and Modules are still awaited in order to comment on the impact.”
