Rs 2 lakh crore additional collateral-free credit to MSMEs
Relieve proposed for MSMEs under VIVAD SE VISHWAS I AND II Schemes
Relief to MSMEs, startups and professionals through ease of doing business
National Financial Information Registry to be set up
New Delhi Delhi, NFAPost: While presenting the Union Budget 2023-24 in Parliament on Wednesday, Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman proposed to continue the financial sector reforms and innovative use of technology which have led to financial inclusion at scale, better and faster service delivery, ease of access to credit and participation in financial markets.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the revamped credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs, proposed in the previous Budget, will take effect from 1st April 2023 through infusion of Rs 9000 crore in the corpus.
“This will enable additional collateral-free guaranteed credit of ₹ 2 lakh crore. Further, the cost of credit will be reduced by about 1%,” said Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Giving significant relief to MSMEs, the Finance Minister proposed that in cases of failure by MSMEs to execute contracts during the Covid period, 95% of the forfeited amount relating to bid or performance security, will be returned to them by government and government undertakings.
To settle contractual disputes of government and government undertakings, wherein arbitral award is under challenge in a court, a voluntary settlement scheme with standardised terms will be introduced. This will be done by offering graded settlement terms depending on pendency level of the dispute.
Stating that MSMEs are growth engines of our economy, the Finance Minister said that micro enterprises with turnover up to Rs 2 crore and certain professionals with turnover of up to Rs 50 lakh can avail the benefit of presumptive taxation.
The Finance Minister proposed to provide enhanced limits of Rs 3 crore and Rs 75 lakh respectively, to the tax payers whose cash receipts are no more than 5%. Moreover, to support MSMEs in timely receipt of payments, Nirmala Sitharaman further proposed to allow deduction for expenditure incurred on payments made to them only when payment is actually made.
