NEW DELHI: Traders, reeling under the impact of COVID-19 restrictions, were left disappointed by the Union Budget for FY 2022-23, with many terming it "non-middle class-friendly". A few traders hailed it, but with some reservations.
Most of the traders TMS spoke to said they were expecting some relief for the businesses, both retail and wholesale, which have been hit by three recurring waves of the pandemic, but the Budget was a letdown.
Atul Bhargava, president of New Delhi Traders Association (NDTA), said the Budget is "flat" and the government has not considered middle class traders while preparing it.
"A lot of other traders I met were unhappy. We have gone through major losses over the past 20-22 months. We had to pay our rent, EMIs, loans, electricity bills etc. without earning a penny, but the government did not consider our requirements at all. Most of us have withdrawn our savings to save our businesses," he said.
Bhargava was miffed that trader associations have supported the government all this while and are the largest tax-paying sector, but still there is no support from the government to them. "Businesses are the backbone of an economy and also create employment. People have taken loans left, right and center to run shops. The government should take a call on our future. We can only contribute to the GDP if we survive and for that the government has to help us," he said.
Voicing similar concerns, Brij Khosla, vice president of Khan Market Traders Association said that shop owners were expecting some relief but there was none. "As regular, middle-class, shopkeepers, we expected that some incentive or package should have been given to us as massive losses were incurred over the past two years," said Khosla.
CAIT hails budget, terms it progressive and growth-oriented
Wholesalers, too, said that the budget offers a "hopeless" scenario for the middleclass and has left them in the lurch. "They could have increased the income tax slabs. A package could have been announced for us. At least they could have given us a rebate in electricity bill or school fees for our children, but nothing came at all. The middle class traders are buried under loans. We have exhausted all our savings. How are we going to survive if there is another wave?" said Parmajit Singh Pamma, vice-president, Federation of Sadar Bazar Traders Association.
Sudhir Jain, president of steel market association, said revenue and expense in the budget has a huge gap. "Where will the government bring funds from to fill the gap, The burden will ultimately fall on the tax payer," he added.
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), on the other hand, welcomed the Budget saying it is "progressive" and promotes "growth". At the same time, it lamented that there was no announcement for traders to place them at par with corporate sector in terms of income tax, which they said has "highly disappointed" the business community.
"The Union Budget is a comprehensive and progressive economic document which provides ease of doing business to traders, ensuring robust growth. Several new announcements including extension of ECGL scheme and linkage of PLI scheme to various sectors will not only benefit the small manufacturing units but will also leverage the trading sector since the manufacturing goods and consumables income will come back to the economy and therefore help meet the current challenges of financial liquidity in the trading sector," BC Bhartia, national president, and Praveen Khandelwal, secretary-general, CAIT, said in a joint statement.