Haryana MSMEs to get 50% reimbursement of VAT on natural gas

In order to provide some relief to industries in NCR where norms require them to shift to cleaner fuels, the Haryana government has proposed to reimburse 50 per cent of VAT collected on natural gas purchased by MSMEs for a period of two years.

"The government recognises that industries in the national capital region (NCR) are being pushed to shift to cleaner fuels, including natural gas, due to concerns arising from the severity of air pollution. The shift would increase the cost of production for industries affecting their competitiveness, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said.

Khattar, who also holds the finance portfolio, presented the budget for 2022-23 in the state assembly here on Tuesday.

It has been proposed in the budget to provide 50 per cent reimbursement on VAT on natural gas (piped or compressed) for industries in the MSME sector for a period of two years to help them remain competitive on conversion to cleaner fuels, he said, adding that conversion towards cleaner fuels requires significant investment in infrastructure.

"Grant assistance will be provided to MSMEs up to 30 per cent of the capital expenditure for conversion of their boilers from coal or diesel to cleaner fuels, subject to a limit of Rs 15 lakh," he further said.

To give an impetus to entrepreneurship and small businesses, Khattar also announced the Laghu Udyamita Samarthan Nidhi scheme under which individual or family-owned businesses will get interest subvention at the rate of 5 per cent on loans up to Rs 3 lakh, subject to a maximum of Rs 15,000 per month.

Any individual or a household with the annual income of Rs 3 lakh or less will be eligible for this assistance, he said.

To promote industrial exports and as per the demand from exporters, the government has decided to provide freight subsidy for industrial exports, details of which will be notified separately by the industries and commerce department, said Khattar.

A sum of Rs 1,000 crore will be set aside by the HSIIDC (Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation) for the upgradation of infrastructure in the industrial model townships.

To ensure uninterrupted power supply to industries, the state power utilities will invest Rs 1,000 crore during 2022-23 for the improvement of electricity infrastructure in industrial areas, said Khattar.

Besides, the government is also formulating a land pooling policy to enable people to participate in urban and industrial development by pooling in their land.

The chief minister announced several measures for the development of rural and urban areas. He said the government will provide 7 per cent of the revenue from the state's own tax resources (SOTR) to the institutions of local government in the ratio of 55:45 for panchayati raj institutions and urban local bodies, respectively.

Khattar also proposed setting up of a Haryana urban development fund on the lines of Haryana rural development fund. Both the funds will be allocated 1 per cent of SOTR to meet specific development needs in urban and rural areas.

Besides, the government has proposed to develop an integrated aviation hub at Hisar.

With increasing multi-storeyed constructions in the state, issues of structural safety of apartment buildings have come up, the chief minister said, adding that the state building code will be amended to make provisions for periodic structural audit after issuance of the occupation certificate to housing societies.