Budget 2024-25: CII seeks steps to cut cost of business & enhance ease of doing biz

New Delhi: Apex business chamber CII has in its presentation to the government ahead of the Union Budget, requested for the rationalisation of stamp duty on land and phasing out the cross-subsidy on power rates to "reduce the cost of doing business".

The CII presentation suggests that states should be encouraged to rationalise stamp duty. The apex industry chamber has also recommended that cross-subsidisation of power by industry to other user segments should be phased out as it tends to increase the cost of production and makes Indian industry less competitive than its global rivals.

CII has also suggested that captive power plants (CPPS) should be brought at par with the power sector for coal pricing, allocation, and transportation.

The presentation also makes out a strong case to cut logistics costs for businesses by phasing out cross-subsidisation of railway passenger fares by freight.

It points out that as highlighted in the National Logistics policy, the government should continue digitisation aiming towards paperless logistics to save significant time and cost.

CII has also suggested petroleum products and electricity should be brought under GST to reduce power and logistics costs.

Apart from reducing the cost of business, CII has also suggested measures to "enhance ease of doing business".

These include:

* Provide a real-time ranking of central ministries & states on the National Single Window System (NSWS)

* Allow closure of businesses through NSWS, under both IBC & Companies Act 2013

* Fix time-bar for raising claims by govt dept on returns filed by businesses, maybe 5 years

* Evolve India Industrial Land Bank (IILB) as the National Level Land Bank

* Introduce settlement scheme for customs related disputes

* Publish States' ranking & reports based on clearances of commercial disputes in a year (as a per cent of total) through fast-tracking court system & ADR mechanism

* Decriminalised provisions to be applied retrospectively and replace all 'fines' with 'penalty'

* Special assistance to laggard states in ease of doing business.