IndiaRetailBiz

“It is not a very inspiring budget,” told the Press Trust of India. “The retail sector has been clamouring for some kind of industry status and the issue not being touched upon is a disappointment,” said Bijou Kurien, president and chief executive (lifestyle), Reliance Retail Limited.

“Finance minister’s silence on (easing) FDI norms in retail is a dampener.  I feel the finance minister should have also done away with service tax on rentals, which is currently at 12.5%,” Thomas Varghese, CEO, Aditya Birla Retail.

“The abolition of the fringe benefit tax (FBT) and scrapping of the 10% surcharge on personal income tax would leave more money in the hands of consumers. Increasing expenditure in infrastructure and hiking the income-tax ceiling will increase consumption, which is good for [retailers like] us,” said Kishore Biyani, Founder and CEO, Future Group.

“It is a good budget, but it could have been better. FDI norms have not been touched upon. There were no sops for the retail industry in terms of allowing for greater penetration, despite retail providing employment to a large number of people,” said Ambeek Khemka, Group President, Vishal Retail.

“Lack of clarity on FDI norms is certainly a “negative,” said R Subramanian, Managing Director, Subhiksha Trading Services.

“The abolition of FBT and CTT is the only good thing that has come out of this budget, but there is nothing for the short term,” said V N Dhoot, Chairman, Videocon Industries.

“While, customs duty of 5% on import of set-top boxes (used for the conditional access system) is a negative, slashing of customs duty on LCD TVs to 5% from 10% earlier is a good move. I hope the manufacturers help us pass this benefit on to the consumers, ” said Ajit Joshi, CEO, Infiniti Retail (Croma).

“The budget is a big disappointment. No fundamental or structural issues related with the sector, including FDI and industry status for retail, or reduction in service taxes have been addressed,” said Pinaki Ranjan Mishra, Partner and Industry Leader (Retail and Consumer Product Practice), KPMG. “Steps like extending investment- linked tax incentives in cold storage and hike in income tax ceilings will, however, bring some benefits,” added Mishra.

“The Budget has addressed basic issues, for instance, the Rs 100-per-day wage. In that situation, the rural and urban poor spend with different mindsets. Their spending remains basic and doesn’t necessarily become consumption as we, consumer marketers, would want it to be. At best, the Budget would somewhat cheer rural folk and could spell a favourable rural vote bank for the government,” said D Shivakumar, Managing Director, Nokia India.

“The Budget is silent on FDI too. Apart from some movement in infrastructure and macro-economic issues, it doesn’t promise much. As a retailer, I rue the fact that there’s dissonance in the taxation policy of the Central and the state government. For example, the Maharashtra government has hiked VAT on mobiles from 4% to 12%. The government will have to take a comprehensive look at policies to spur growth to tackle slowdown and unemployment. And that hasn’t happened in this Budget,” added Shivkumar.