Retail industry has hailed the Union Budget 2020-21 stating that it will increase the spending power of consumers which will eventually boost demand. The national policy of retail, changes in personal income tax rates, removal of dividend distribution tax (DDT), and the National Technical Textiles Mission are among the points welcomed by retailers.

Speaking on behalf of Retailers Association of India (RAI), its CEO Kumar Rajagopalan said, "RAI had two expectations from the budget this year: Ease of Doing Business and a national policy for retail. We are pleased that the Budget 2020 paves the path for both in some way. The mandate to states for adopting model laws and decriminalisation of statues are some welcome moves on those fronts.  More money in the hands of consumers definitely boosts consumption, however we have to calibrate for non-allowance of deductions."

"National Technical Textiles Mission with an outlay of ₹1,480 crore is a great move by the finance minister. The bigger chunk of this investment must be utilised for skill development, tech and automation to get higher efficiency for faster and cost-effective produce. We are happy about the personal income tax reduction in the budget, which should add positive sentiments overall and spur the consumer towards spending," said Akhil Jain, executive director of retail brand Madame.

Congratulating the government for presenting a holistic budget for the common man, Deepak Bansal, director, Cantabil Retail India Ltd, said "It's encouraging to see that the government has taken bold initiatives at large. The removal of dividend distribution tax (DDT) and 100 per cent tax exemption by the government will open gates for foreign investment, making India an attractive destination for investment. The tax benefit proposal will significantly benefit and we expect an increase in the spending power of the consumer which will eventually boost demand and supply.”

Mentioning that the FY21 budget has delivered what best it possibly could, Sanjay Vakharia, CEO, Spykar Lifestyles, said “The industry had requested the government to bring in measures that would grow demand and spur consumption. But beside a few changes to the personal income tax rates, not much is seen impacting the demand and consumption story. The big gun announcements that the industry was expecting to stimulate the economy were missing. The absence of feel-good measures has left the budget falling short of expectations.”

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (WE-DD)

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