NPAs to 180 days, dedicated working group: Industry bodies' ask for MSMEs from Budget 2024

At the pre-budget meeting with the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the industry bodies have laid down their recommendations for the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector apart from the other areas.

Sanjeev Agrawal, President, PHDCCI, after meeting with the Finance Minister on ETBFSI’s question over their demand/suggestions for the MSME said, we suggested to extend the classification norms of MSME for NPAs to 180 days to prevent unnecessary closures and economic losses.

Further, the PHDCCI seek the inclusion of Medium Enterprises in MSME Facilitation Councils for resolving delayed payments, ensuring a maximum payment period of 45 days, he told.

The industry body further suggested the simplification of the access to finance for MSMEs by reducing primary and collateral security requirements and ensuring hassle-free loan disbursements at affordable interest rates.

It also recommended to prioritize the development of tourism infrastructure to improve tourist experiences, facilities, and safety, thereby stimulating employment generation and supporting the growth of MSMEs.

Assocham demands for dedicated working group on MSMEs

Sanjay Nayar, president of Assocham, said that the MSMEs should be a key focus area for the government.

“There is a pressing need to establish a dedicated working group tasked with identifying underperforming schemes related to MSMEs. Such an initiative would systematically assess the effectiveness of current programs, pinpointing areas where interventions are falling short in supporting MSMEs,” he said.

“By conducting thorough evaluations and gathering empirical data, this group can recommend targeted reforms or adjustments to policies, ensuring that government initiatives align closely with the evolving needs and challenges faced by MSMEs,” he added.

FICCI urges revision on turnover criterion for TReDS

FICCI has urged for revising the qualifying turnover criterion for mandatory registration of companies on the invoice discounting platform TReDS.

While interacting with the media after meeting with the Finance Minister, Subhrakant Panda, Immediate Past President, FICCI told that the body called for revising it to over Rs 250 crore from Rs 500 crore currently.

At the meeting, he also suggested that every tax invoice raised by the GST registered MSME unit should reflect automatically on the respective TReDS platform where the MSME unit is registered.

“Such invoices to be made deemed accepted and made available for financial institutions to provide funds to MSMEs,” he said.

Panda also asked for leveraging the account aggregator (AA) framework for MSME lending by reviewing the legal and compliance issues that prevent joint and corporate accounts from the scope of AA.