We are just 2 days away from a historical, promised budget where the Hon’ble Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, will give her third budget speech on Feb 1.

We hope that this new Union Budget infuses hope in the economy, especially for the infrastructure sector that is reeling. It should provide a road map to the economy for the future course of action as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic effects.

While there is a lot of talk going around regarding new taxes that are going to be introduced to garner fiscal space, I would strongly urge the Finance Minister to refrain from doing so. Also, I believe that introducing COVID cess would be a regressive step and should not be imposed.

As we saw numerous and tedious changes in compliance during the course of the previous year, I would request the FM to reduce compliances in all the laws, be it the Income Tax Act, Company Law, or GST.

FM should make a strong statement of intent, as far as GST is concerned, because nothing in this budget can be with regards to GST, as GST Council is the only empowered body to do so. But a statement of intent can be made for reducing the compliances and penalties that are already there. Along with that, the discretion given to GST officers should also be reduced.

It would be great if this year’s speech is kept short and not as extensive as last year’s, which exceeded 2 hours mark. A lot of man-hours can be saved, and it will help people stay attentive throughout the speech.

We wish her the best for this upcoming budget, and we hope that we get the Union Budget that we deserve.