UNION BUDGET 2023 DECODING THE DETAILS

Published On: 04/02/2023

Practice Area: Tax

Authors:

Shashi Mathews
Shruti K.P
Abhishek Boob
Rajitha Nair
Ritvika Thakur
The Union Budget 2023 – 24 was expected provide the guard rails for the Indian Economy amidst a global slowdown, and to avoid recessionary effects on the country. The Hon’ble Finance Minister’s speech to some extent delivers on this aspect. With a slew of measures being proposed to push the growth story by increasing capital expenditure spending, the Budget this year focusses on 7 key areas viz., Inclusive Development, last mile delivery, Infrastructure, Investments, Green Growth, Youth Power and the Financial Sector. While the capex initiatives are going to influence job creation also, a major development on the direct tax front that can potentially impact foreign investment into India, is on extending the ‘angel tax’ provisions to non-resident investments as well. While there have been no other big-bang changes on the corporate tax front in terms of rates, some key positives include extension of the tax holiday for start-ups, and the time for start-ups to claim benefits and carry forward of losses in case of change in majority shareholding. Another major development is on the personal taxation front, wherein the government has tried to bring in several changes, to possibly wean taxpayers away from the old tax regime. On the indirect tax front, the Budget focusses on making domestic manufacturing attractive and making India export friendly. Along with the overall infrastructure spending push, rate changes in customs will have an impact on certain sectors. With not many changes in GST, as expected, one can only look to the GST Council to solve the misses in this years Budget, on this front! Hope you find the third edition of our annual Budget Analysis an interesting and informative read!