Budget 2020 expectations: Concessions for digital transactions, GST cut on events industry among demands

Budget 2020 expectations: Concessions for digital transactions to help India transition from cash economy and GST cut on events industry are among key demands from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman ahead of Budget 2020 (#BUDGET2020ZEE) presentation. The Budget is in focus of all and sundry at a time when the Indian economy needs a major boost. This will be the second Budget presentation from the current finance minister, but the first full budget of Modi 2.0.

"Financial inclusion remains a critical concern, and digitization has the potential to effectively address the same. This can be achieved by taking steps to promote digital payments and improve the supporting infrastructure for digital payments. The Government should introduce budgetary concessions for digital transactions and thereby reduce dependency on cash," Aurko Bhattacharya, Co-Founder, ePayLater said.

He added that the digital lending industry has been playing a very important role in accelerating financial inclusion, helping India transition from a cash economy to a digital economy.

"Thus, digital lending needs to be given a boost. Tax benefits are needed for regulated entities involved in digital lending. We expect the government to usher in a new set of reforms in the upcoming budget and hope for higher tax relief, and further clarity on Aadhaar based eKYC," Bhattacharya added.

Meanwhile, the events industry, which is rapidly growing, wants GST rate cut in certain sectors like music and sports. At present, both these sectors draw 28 per cent GST.

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"The events industry employs a large number of people, from individuals to small production companies to large scale entertainment agencies. Many media & entertainment companies are adding an events division to their existing setup as the growth of this sector has exceeded expectations. Our economy is consuming events as fast as they are being supplied. Every year there is innovation, people are attending and paying to be part of various events. Certain sectors of our industry like music and sports have the highest level of GST i.e. 28% versus 18%. It would be great for this eco-genre to be moved to the 18% bracket, this reducing the GST impact on the industry," Shreyas Srinivasan - CEO of Paytm Insider said.

He added that the events industry is all about doing grand events, however, it also supports budding creators and upcoming talent by allowing them the opportunity to create new content.

"Many of these new creators are creating an economy through social media. We are at the crux of this boom in India and want to take the opportunity to give them a platform to showcase their talent.  The GST reduction will help us support such talent, allowing us to innovate and evolve, without a higher GST repercussion," Bhattacharya said.