Recommendations sent to Min of Finance to raise tax holiday for start-ups from 3 to 7 years: Sitharaman

The Dollar Business Bureau

Nirmala Sitharaman, the Minister for Commerce and Industry said today while addressing the Karnataka BJP Women's Executive Meeting, that her Ministry has recommended to the Ministry of Finance to raise tax holiday for start-ups from 3 years to 7. "They (Finance Ministry) have received the recommendations of Commerce and Industry Ministry to raise tax holiday to seven years from the current three years with sense of constructive and positive approach” she said. 

This recommendation was made to the Ministry of Finance after several start-ups requested the Minister as that would provide certainty to the start-ups on taxation matters. Further replying to a query with regard to Apple launching a manufacturing unit in India, for which the company heads have been in talks with Foxconn for the same, the minister was evasive and said, “"They have not approached us and therefore we are silent.” According to earlier media reports, Apple and the manufacturing giant Foxconn have been in talks for setting up manufacturing facilities for iPhones in India. It was also in this regard that the then telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had met officials of Foxconn in May and revealed to the press that Apple would soon be in India. 

Apple has been lobbying hard for exemption from the mandatory 30% local sourcing on the grounds that its products have high-end technology that cannot be sourced within the country. We also carried news in June that the government had relaxed FDI norms by giving a 3-year exemption from local sourcing to foreign players in single brand retail and another 5 year extended release for state-of-the-art  and cutting edge technology. 

Sitharaman also refused to divulge details about the waiving-off of 30% sourcing norms to Chinese phone maker, Xiaomi and LeEco.