MSMEs need separate property tax structure

The District Industries Centre should be engaged in industrial promotion activities to extend hand holding support to potential entrepreneurs and MSMEs in crisis. It should create awareness among youth on State & Central government initiatives on industrial promotion - K Sudhir Reddy, President, Telangana Industrialists’ Federation

HYDERABAD: All the industrial units are currently charged property tax on par with residential and commercial establishments. As there is no separate tax structure for the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), these units have to comply with lot of industrial safety norms, fire norms, storage of gas cylinders & chemical and need to have open spaces for storage areas. The MSMEs need to have larger open areas/ covered areas with plot sizes varying from 450 sq meters to 5 acres. It will be huge burden on the MSME’s if they have to pay the same tariff that applies to the residential and commercial areas. Telangana Industrialists’ Federation (TIF) urges to bring a separate property tax structure for the MSMEs to reduce the burden on them.

Speaking to Bizz Buzz, TIF President K Sudhir Reddy said: “The MSME associations should be consulted while revising the property tax tariff on regular basis.” Sharing his recommendations to the State government on the new MSME Development Policy 2024, he proposed constituting State-level and district-level grievance cells to address the MSME issues.

He further said: “In order to support the MSMEs, there is a strong need to constitute a State-level grievance cell (SLGC) to address the issues with the bankers and all line departments. The principal secretary for industries, commissioner of industries and stakeholders’ associations must be its members. The SLGC should mandatorily meet once in two months like Praja Vaani.”

“Also, the State Industries Minister should chair the SLGC meeting once in six months at least to have first-hand information on grievances of the MSMEs,” Sudhir Reddy said. “The District Industries Centre (DIC) should be engaged in industrial promotion activities to extend hand holding support to potential entrepreneurs and MSMEs in crisis.”“Unfortunately, the DIC role is limited to scrutiny and sanction of incentives. The applications for incentives are made online now and hence they should work more proactively, such as disseminating information about the export market potential & technologies, and organising trade promotion tours, trade fairs and exhibitions etc,” he suggested.

The DICs should create awareness among youth on State & Central government schemes for industrial promotion by organising seminars with the help of industry bodies to encourage them towards entrepreneurship. TIF President also advised constituting Security Councils in all the districts to address the issues like extortions and threatening from anti-social elements.

(Congress party came to power in Telangana with A Revanth Reddy as its Chief Minister. Achieving faster industrial growth is essential for the new government to generate jobs and implement its high-value welfare schemes. In this backdrop, Bizz Buzz business daily has taken up a campaign to publish suggestions from industrialists, businessmen, industry associations, experts and others to help Telangana attract more investments. If you have any suggestions, mail them to [email protected]. We will publish innovative suggestions that add value to Telangana’s industrial ecosystem - Editor)