Japanese industry raises tax issues

Says Indian rules on these too complex, presses for early start of GST

Japanese industry has strongly raised the issue of complexity in Indian taxation and pressed for implementation without more delay of a goods and services tax (GST).

It has also expressed serious concern over delays in major infrastructure projects, one being the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), facing land acquisition issues in Haryana and Rajasthan.

Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Hitachi and Panasonic were some of the companies which raised these issues on Wednesday during the Joint India-Japan Business Government Dialogue.

Their high-powered business delegation was led by Tashimitsu Motegi, minister of economy, trade and industry, on a two-day visit here.

“The issue of taxation has become an important issue here and it is impacting our business. We want more clarity and early introduction of GST,” said Yasuhito Harayama, representative director and executive vice- president (EVP), Suzuki Motor Corporation.

According to Junzo Nakajima, EVP and chief executive officer (Asia Pacific) for Hitachi, a GST will boost economic activity and ensure revenue stability.

The Japanese business community also showed displeasure over transfer price taxation, which had put pressure on their margins. They, however, assured continued investment in India and hoped the present grim economic scenario was temporary.  

The Indian side raised some of the problems its business community faced in penetrating the Japanese market, particularly in some sectors such as pharmaceuticals, textiles and information technology services.

Baba Kalyani of Bharat Forge, co-chair of the joint business forum, said after implementation of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, Japan had been able to reap the benefits and India was running a huge trade deficit.

“On some of the taxation issues raised by the Japanese industry, I would like to say that we continue to remain engaged with the government and we expect this to be implemented as soon as possible,” said Sidharth Birla, senior vice-president, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. “However, we have also taken some reforms such as the National Manufacturing Policy and opened up sectors for foreign direct investment.”

Sharma and Motegi also signed a joint statement on Japan-India Investment Promotion. Both sides also announced clearance of six major projects worth Rs 1.10 lakh crore by the DMIC Trust, to come up in Gujarat and Maharashtra.

The ministers also announced work had begun on the Chennai-Bangalore-Chitradurga Industrial Corridor, to pass through Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Recently, on the sidelines of the previous G-20 meeting in Russia, the two coutnries agreed to enhance the existing currency swap arrangement to $50 billion from the earlier $15 bn.

Bilateral trade had risen to $18.5 bn in 2012 from $3.6 bn in 2000. Both sides have set a target of achieving $25 bn of trade by 2015.