Bankers Seek Tax Sops On Bad Loan Provisions In Pre-Budget Meeting

In a pre-budget meeting with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Indian bankers today sought tax incentives on the provisions made by them towards bad debt under insolvency resolution.

“If a buyer is going to take a haircut of the debt, the debt is going to be written off the balance sheet. Just as it is allowed under Sick Industrial Companies Act, the tax break should be allowed on that,” Shikha Sharma, managing director and chief executive officer of Axis Bank told reporters after the meeting.

Yes Bank’s Rana Kapoor said the government should enhance effectiveness of insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings at the National Company Law Tribunal by prioritising case hearings.

Also Read: There Is Political Commitment To Meet Fiscal Deficit Target, Economists At Pre-Budget Meeting

Waiving MDR Charges

The government’s decision to bear the merchant discount charges on transactions up to Rs 2,000 for the next two years will promote digital payments and help small businesses avail credit from banks easily, Sharma said. “I think it's a very progressive move to push digitisation some more.”

The MDR will be borne by the government for two years with effect from Jan. 1, 2018 by reimbursing the same to the banks, Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said at a press conference today. The move will have an impact of Rs 2,512 crore on the exchequer, he added. This will apply to transactions made through debit cards, BHIM UPI or Aadhaar-enabled payment systems.

Also Read: Industry Demands Cut In Corporate Tax Rate In Pre-Budget Meeting