VIJAYAWADA: A delegation of the AP Chambers, led by its president Potluri Bhaskara Rao, met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Vijayawada on Friday and presented a detailed pre-budget representation covering sector-wise recommendations and taxation-related matters.
The delegation submitted proposals focused on strengthening the economic ecosystem of Andhra Pradesh and India.
Key suggestions included measures to boost MSME competitiveness and access to finance — expansion of CGTMSE coverage, relaxation of collateral norms, and interest support for export-oriented MSMEs and manufacturing clusters; investment support for tourism, hospitality and food processing through investment-linked tax benefits, accelerated depreciation for capital-intensive infrastructure, and facilitation of industrial tourism and value-added processing; incentives for technology upgradation such as digital automation, AI and robotics, energy-efficient equipment, and product-testing infrastructure to enhance productivity and global competitiveness.
And also the development of the logistics and export ecosystem by encouraging cold-chain, warehousing and multimodal logistics hubs in Tier-II/III cities to reduce freight costs and improve export readiness.
The delegation also raised important GST-related issues, including simplification and standardisation of GST investigations — especially under Section 67 — to prevent harassment of honest taxpayers and ensure uniform adherence to CBIC guidelines; faster GST refund mechanisms for exporters, hospitality and exhibition organisers to improve working-capital cycles and support growth sectors.
Further, the Chambers highlighted the need to curb duplicated investigations across jurisdictions, avoid repeated summons on concluded matters, and prohibit repeat searches without fresh authorisation and fresh “reason to believe.”
The Union Finance Minister responded positively, assuring that the suggestions would be examined in the upcoming budget formulations.
Apart from Bhaskara Rao, the delegation that met the Union Finance Minister included AP Chambers Executive Vice-President B Raja Sekhar, former president Muthavarapu Murali Krishna, and AP Chambers State Tourism Committee Chair RV Swamy.