MCCI NEWS | 1

It is remarkable that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has expressed its confidence in India’s economic growth prospects in the face of gloomy global scenario. IMF said that India’s macroeconomic fundamentals stand out amidst other emerging economies. It further said, as commodity importer, India’s twin benefits have come both on current Account and fiscal arena. While food-driven retail inflation is on the wane, the record khariff harvest due to good monsoon will step up its growth momentum.

Central Government’s strong reforms push during 2016 is a welcome move and adoption of Good & Services Tax is poised to boost India’s medium term growth. However, greater labour market flexibility and product market competition considered to be essential for employment generation and accelerating economic growth. Though in the Global Competitiveness Index, India has steadily improved from 71 in 2014-15 to 39 in 2016-17, business performance continues to be under pressure and concerns for capital / debt servicing remains critical.

Back home, West Bengal is all set to project its business readiness to the global investors’ community. We sincerely hope that the 3rd edition of Bengal Global Business Summit scheduled on 20-21st January 2017 will further steer the investors’ sentiment and mark the onset on an accelerated growth of the State economy.

In the ensuing 115th Annual General Meeting scheduled on 28 September 2016, I will hand over the baton to my successor. It was an enriching experience for me and I am sure that with your support and cooperation the Chamber will have more interesting programmes with wider visibility.

I place on record my deep appreciation for all the support and help received from all of you during my tenure.

With warm regards

Vol. IV | No. 6 July-August 2016

MCCI NewsMCCI NewsMCCI NewsMCCI NewsMCCI NewsMCCI NewsMCCI NewsMCCI NewsMCCI NewsMCCI NewsMCCI NewsMCCI NewsMCCI NewsMCCI NewsMCCI NewsMCCI NewsMCCI NewsMCCI NewsMCCI NewsMCCI NewsMCCI NewsFROM THE

PRESIDENT’SDESK

Dear Members,

“Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare: The Road Ahead” with Sudarshan

Bhagat, Hon’ble Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Govt. of India on July 09, 2016

Yours sincerely

Manish Goenka

(R-L) Dr. Pradeep K. Mazumdar, Anupam Shah, Sudarshan Bhagat & Sanjay Rasiwasia

Addressing the members Shri Bhagat singled out the importance of increasing farmers’ income as the most important driving force in agriculture these days. He said that most of the small farmers were debt ridden, central government’s initiatives like Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, soil health cards, organic farming and other schemes would provide relief to the heavily debt ridden small farmers. Since most of the areas are rain-fed initiatives like Pradhan Mantri Kissan Sinchai Yojana would try to bring in effective irrigation measures in agriculture.

With improved road communication through Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana and Krishi Vigyan Kendras at every district headquarters, farmers were being provided assistance to make agriculture more remunerative, he asserted. He felt that in addition to agriculture, farmers should be encouraged to take up animal husbandry, dairy farming, beekeeping, horticulture, cultivation of fruits and vegetables to have additional supplementary income for the households.

Dr. Pradeep Kumar Mazumdar spoke about the phenomenal growth of agriculture in West Bengal for the last 4 years. He said that net income

Chamber organized a meeting with Sudarshan Bhagat, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare on “Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare : The Road Ahead”. The session was also addressed by Dr. Pradeep Kumar Mazumdar, Chief Advisor to the Chief Minister of West Bengal for Agriculture & Allied sectors. Anupam Shah, Past President of the Chamber chaired the session.

2 | MCCI NEWS

of farmers in West Bengal had gone up by 75% from an average annual figure of Rs. 91,000/- per family in 2011–12 to Rs. 1,60,000/- per family in 2014–15, excluding the cost of cultivation as per NSDP. To make farming more profitable by reducing cost of cultivation, agricultural machineries like Tractor, Power Tiller, Paddy Transplanter etc. had been distributed amongst about 2,85,000 farmers and 69 lakh Kissan Credit Cards had been issued to protect farmers from money lenders- he added.

Seminar on “Entrepreneurship and Innovation in AYUSH” in association

with ASSOCHAM on July 12, 2016

Interactive Session on ‘Draft Model GST Law’ on August 05, 2016

Interactive Session on ‘Income Dec-laration Scheme, 2016’ with Gopal

Mukherjee, Member, CBDT & A.K.Sin-gh, Principal Chief Commissioner of

Income Tax on August 05, 2016

A Seminar on “Innovation and Entrepreneurship in AYUSH” was organized by the Chamber in association with ASSOCHAM. Swami Yadavendrananda, Ramkrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Golpark, Dr. Biswajit Bera, Secretary, Tea Research Foundation, Dr. G P Sarkar, President, Ayurvedic Drug Manufacturers’ Association of India, Dr. Pawan Sharma, Vice President, Emami Ltd., Mr. Ravindra Khandelwal, Chief Operating Officer, Sanjeevani Ayush Care, Ms. Mousumi Nag, Mousumi Wellness Exports and Dr. P. Mohan Kumar, Adviser, National Tea Research Foundation, Tea Board addressed the session.

An interactive session on ‘Model GST Law’ was organized by the Chamber which was addressed by J. K. Mittal, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India & Eminent Tax Consultant and Arun Kumar Agarwal, Chairman Standing Committee on Indirect Taxes & GST.

Chamber organised an interactive session on ‘Income Declaration Scheme, 2016 with Gopal Mukherjee and Anil Kumar Singh, Principal Chief commissioner of Income Tax , West Bengal & Sikkim.

Swami Yadavendrananda addressing the session. (L-R) Shradh Agarwal, G.P. Sarkar,Biwasjit Bera, Swami Yadavendrananda, Sanjay Rasiwasia, Parminder Jeet Kaur & Tushar Basu

Swami Yadavendrananda, Ramkrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Golpark spoke about the lack of spirituality as the basic reason for human suffering. He felt that the Government of India should be given due credit for setting up AYUSH, as many diseases could be treated better by non–allopathic treatment. Dr. Biswajit Bera, spoke about the good effects of black tea. Dr. G P Sarkar, made an analysis of different systems : Allopathy vis-a-vis Ayurveda & Homoeopathy. While Ayurveda worked on the physiological plane, Homoeopathy worked on dynamic plane, he said. Ayurveda worked on removal of symptoms, Homoeopathy cured the patient rather than the disease. Dr. Pawan Sharma urged on creation of entrepreneurship opportunities in Ayurveda. Ravindra Khandelwal informed the House that there were around 4 lakhs Ayurveda practitioners in the state with around 2000 Ayurveda dispensaries and there is a huge gap in the market for entrepreneurial activities. Ms. Mousumi Nag felt that side effects of homoeopathy and ayurveda medicine were less. Dr. P. Mohan Kumar said that consumption of 3–7 cups of black tea would reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease to 58%.

(L-R) Surendra Keyal, J.K.mittal & Arun Kumar Agarwal

J.K.Mittal explained the compliance details particularly for enterprises having activities spread over various states and said that compliance burden is not going to be reduced under GST regime. In the Draft Model Law, assessment mechanism had not been explained.

Arun K. Agarwal said that GST is presumed to establish seamless flow of goods & service, but there may be issues in getting input tax credit seamlessly.

(R-L) Hemant Bangur, Gopal Mukherjee, Anil Kumar Singh & Arvind Agrawal

MCCI NEWS | 3

Symposium on ‘Leadership Coaching & Development’on

August 06, 2016

Interactive Session with M.T. Krishna Babu, IAS, Chairman, Kolkata Port

Trust on 23 August, 2016

Chamber organized a Symposium on ‘Leadership Coaching & Development’ with Haider Aziz Safwi, Hon’ble Deputy Speaker, West Bengal Legislative Assembly as the Chief Guest. Prof (Dr.) B.N. Srivastava, Organizational Behaviour Group, IIMC, Dr. Deepak Malhotra, Author & Head-HR, Srei Group Company and Anamitra Chatterjee, Executive Coach addressed the session.

Chamber organized an interactive session with M.T.Krishna Babu, IAS, Chairman Kolkata Port Trust. S. Balaji Arunkumar, IRTS, Deputy Chairman, Kolkata Dock Complex and G. Senthilvel, Deputy Chairman, Haldia Dock Complex of KoPT were also present.

(L-R) Haider Aziz Safwi, Prof (Dr.) B.N. Srivastava, Tushar Basu, Anamitra Chatterjee and Dr. Deepak Malhotra

Haider Aziz Safwi mentioned that a leader needs to have the key characteristics and in leaders in the political field are more open to criticism and as such it is more challenging. While acting as Speaker, it is more interesting as he has to deal with 294 M.L.As in the House who all are leaders because they have won the elections of their areas.He felt that a leader should have good personality, good communication skill and should be truthful, frank and lead by example.

Prof (Dr.) B.N. Srivastava observed that the Coaching is about “Inspiring, Not Controlling”, “Developing Potential, Not Monitoring Performance”, “Influencing Without Authority”, “Mentoring Not Teaching”, and “Hand-Holding, Not Supervising”. Leadership coaching include building High Performance Cultures, mentorship Program at all Levels, symbolize high expectations and talent development.

Dr. Deepak Malhotra mentioned that the right art of questioning can lead to proper coaching. A leadership coach also needs to listen actively in order to take people to the level where they never expected to be.One needs to identify the differences between training & teaching, coaching

(L-R) Vishal Jhajharia, S. Balaji Arunkumar, M.T. Krishna Babu, Hemant Bangur and G. Senthilvel

In an Interactive Session, organized by the Chamber M.T. Krishna Babu, IAS, Chairman, Kolkata Port Trust said that draft, dredging are the biggest challenges KoPT is facing. Rs.1,250 cr. Mechanizition Project at Haldia has been taken up and Rs.250 cr. already allotted. Now Eden Channel is being used, which will reduce cost by Rs.200 cr. Floating cranes and jetties are being installed which will add flexibility. On development of Sagar Port, he said it is in a challenging location with connectivity problems and Government of India will spend around 10,000 cr. to develop rail- road connectivity including the Bridge on Muriganga river.

When asked, whether Tajpur-Shankarpur Port would pose challenge to Sagar Port, he said a complimentarity has to be worked out otherwise Sagar Port will not survive. Floating Jetty outside the lockgate area will be ready by March 2017. Transloading has been taken up by Jindal ITF and the cost structure are to be worked out as cost of trans-loading is found to be Rs.200 cr. extra compared to Dhamra Port. To accommodate this, KoPT has reduced charges by Rs.50 per tonne and Jindal ITF by Rs.140 per tonne.

On Inland Water Transport 3 multi-model terminal will be developed at Haldia, Sahibganj and Varanasi. He said that mechanization of KoPT will increase its capacity by 20 million at KoPT Complex and 60 million at Haldia Complex by 2025. KoPT has identified 420 acres of land for residential purposes to be developed on PPP mode with a lease for 99 years. As regards private participation in dredging, tender has been invited which closes on 23.09.2016.

While explaining the details Gopal Mukherjee said that It is an excellent opportunity for everybody to declare the undisclosed income and pay taxes of 30 p.c. and penalty of 7.5 p.c beside Cess of 7.5 p.c. as it would give full immunity from prosecution. The information furnished will not be shared with any other authority and will be kept with the Principal Chief Commissioner level only.

A. K.Singh emphasized that the income so far not disclosed but now declared under the Income Declaration Scheme would be utilized for nation building, development of infrastructure etc and business community might help in creating awareness so that more and more people come forward and declare their undisclosed income and take the benefit of the scheme.

& teaching, coaching & mentoring. Coaching is more about fine-tuning of attitudes.

Anamitra Chatterjee highlighted that a coach needs to understand the coachee instead of just advising him. He needs to believe in the potential of the coachee. This is the difference of a coach from mentor who would just tell the candidate what to do to achieve what he wants.

4 | MCCI NEWS

MCCI-MCC Ladies Forum organized a Seminar on ‘Empowering Women for Nation building and sustainable development’ at Taj Bengal. Dr. Shashi Panja, Hon’ble MoS, Women and Child Development & Social Welfare (IC), Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of West Bengal graced the occasion as Chief Guest. Smt. Sharmistha Mukherjee, Media Panelist, INC, Smt. Agnimitra Paul, Fashion designer and entrepreneur, Smt. Ushoshi Sengupta, Miss Universe India and founder, TES also addressed the Seminar.

Dr. Shashi Panja in her address said that the West Bengal’s policy for Women Empowerment rolled out many supportive policies for them. One of the women oriented policies is the 50% reservation in the Panchayats . She mentioned the convergence of the ‘Sabala’ and Kanyashree scheme which is supposed to benefit the adolescent girls who are not otherwise privileged. The girls who availed Kanyashree could also enter the Sabala program which teaches them life skills and then they could gain from the much needed school education. Dr. Panja also mentioned the ‘Swabalamban’ program which is intended to empower the economically underprivileged women of rural areas and the state is working through NGOs to implement this. The low cost housing scheme also empowers women because it conditions the

Programme on Meditation with Swami Yadavendrananda on July 15, 2016

Seminar on Empowering Women for Nation Building and Sustainable Development July 20, 2016 at Taj Bengal

Swami Yadavendrananda, Seema Agarwal and others

Chamber with its Ladies Forum (MCCI-Mlf) oragnised a session on Meditation on July 15, 2016 at the Chamber premise with Swami Yadavendrananda, from Ramkrishna Mission Institute of Culture and Temple of Inner Wisdom.

Swami Yadavendrananda emphasized the role of meditation in our daily life which teaches us to be free from worries. He said that there is divinity in all people and we should look towards it in all people. It is true that pure and unselfish love is difficult to attain. When a person loved somebody he became tolerant towards him or her. Respect also comes out of love. Another outcome of love is that it makes oneself more accommodating and tolerant towards others.

Amit Doshi of the Temple of Inner Wisdom said that their organization takes guidance from Master Monood. The objective of meditation is to be at peace. The Temple of Inner Wisdom follows breath meditation.

property to be in the name of the woman in the family.

Sharmistha Mukherjee observed if there was an economic value for the domestic help provided by the women in household chores, then the nation’s GDP would have gone up higher. She also mentioned the poor implementation of the gender budget as spending on women has come down to 4.5 % of GDP in 2016-17 budget from 5% when it was implemented and 5.8% in the revised budget of 2013-14. She insisted that The Women Reservation bill passed in Rajya Sabha and raised during the UPA-I regime should be passed soon by the Lok Sabha.

Agnimitra Paul observed that discrimination against women begins at home where she has to face many restraints for being a woman. She also mentioned the importance of sanitation along with education.

Anupama Sureka said that a woman performs multiple social roles as daughter, sister, wife and also functional roles of friend, philosopher and a manager and education for women is important.

Ushoshi Sengupta said that women are natural multi-taskers and more than gender equality it is important to understand that ‘we are not here to compete with men; we are here to do what men cannot do ’.

Dr. Shashi Panja Addressing the gathering. (R-L) Ushoshi Sengupta, Agnimitra Paul, Sharmistha Mukherjee, Seema Agarwal, Anupama Sureka, Prapti Jhajharia and Vandana Sonthalia

Lighting the Lamp - (R-L) Ushoshi Sengupta, Sharmistha Mukherjee, Agnimitra Paul, Dr. Shashi Panja, Anupama Sureka & Seema Agarwal

MCCI NEWS | 5

FORTHCOMING EVENTSINTERACTIVE SESSIONWith Ghanshyam Singh, General Manager Eastern Railway on ‘Eastern Railway Prospects & Challenges’ on 08 September 2016

SPECIAL SESSION WITHShri Arjun Ram Meghwal, Hon’ble Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs on 18 September 2016 at the Park

INTERACTIVE SESSIONwith N. K. Singh, Chairman, FRBM Review Committee on ‘What will it take for a 10 percent Growth’ on 13 September 2016

SEMINAR

on ‘Skill Development & Innovation - Key to higher Economic Growth’ jointly with Don Bosco Technical Institute on 20 September 2016

INTERACTIVE SESSION With Ashish Kumar Chauhan, Managing Director, Bombay Stock Exchange on 23 September 2016

INTERACTIVE SESSION With Dr. T.C.A. Anant, Secretary, Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation & Chief Statistician of India on 26 September 2016

115th ANNUAL SESSION WITHPiyush Goyal, Hon’ble Minister of State (I/C) for Power, Mines, Coal & Renewable Energy at Hotel Taj Bengal on 02 October 2016

SKILL DEVELOPMENT& INNOVATION

INTERACTIVE SESSION On ’Doing Business with Iceland’ with H.E. Mr.Thorir Ibsen, Ambassador of Iceland to India on 22 September 2016

DOINGBUSINESS

115TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGWednesday, 28 September 2016 at 4 p.m.

MCCI Conference Hall

115TH

AGM

4.1

6.3

3.8

9.9

-3.4

-1.3 -1.5

2.0

0.1

-1.3

1.11.95

-2.4

-0.2July'2015

Aug

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan'16

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Apr-Jul

India’s IIP contracts 2.4% in July; August CPI Inflation at 5.05%

India’s annual retail inflation eased by 100 basis points to 5.05 p.c. in August 2016, but factory output again slipped to a negative territory to (-)2.4 p.c. in July from an expansion of 1.95 p.c. in the moth before. Growth numbers on the industrial production have disappointed by showing a contraction albeit on the back of the volatile capital goods numbers. The manufacturing sector has contracted by 3.4 percent in July essentially on the back of the volatile cable, rubber insulated category. However, data shows that electricity and mining growth were also weak during the month. Basic goods and intermediate goods production continued to expand while consumer durables did well registering an expansion of 5.9 percent. As such, industrial growth continues to remain weak and we are likely to see growth numbers in

low single digit territory. The fall in retail inflation, as per data released by the Central Statistics Office, was due to a rather sharp drop in the annual food inflation – from 8.35 p.c. in July to 5.91 p.c. in August.

This being the last set of data release on retail inflation and industrial production, ahead of the next bi-monthly monetary policy update by RBI due on October 4, expectations have risen sharply on possible interest rate cut.This, also because the annual retail inflation that was above the upper tolerance level of six p.c. in July, has since come down by 100 basis points, even though it is still above the base rate of four p.c..The government target is four p.c. plus or minus two percentage points for the next five years.

6 | MCCI NEWS

Sept'15 Oct'15 Nov'15 Dec'15 Jan-16 Feb'16 Mar'16 Apr'16 May'16 Jun'16 July'16 Aug'16

21.8 21.420.0

22.3 21.1 20.722.7

20.622.2 22.6 21.7 21.5

32.3 31.1 29.834.0

28.727.3 27.8

25.428.4

30.7 29.5 29.2Export Import

Trade deficit shrinks; exports poised to rebound

Exports of goods fell, but only marginally by 0.3 p.c. to $21.21 billion, in August 2016 compared to the same month last year, giving exporters hope that the coming festival season will bring cheerier trade data.The trade deficit in the month was $7.67 billion, against $12.39 billion in the year-ago period, as imports fell by a steeper 14.09 p.c. to $29.19 billion, according to Commerce Ministry.It appears, tThe decline in exports has largely been arrested; exporters can look forward to growth; exports are likely to touch $280 billion in 2016-17.

Non-petroleum exports rose 1.79 p.c. to $19.08 billion in August 2016; this basket has 14 major commodities, including ready-made garments, engineering goods, gems & jewellery and drugs & pharmaceuticals.Petroleum, leather, chemicals, rice, minerals and cotton yarn & fabric saw a fall in exports. Petroleum products exports fell 14.08 p.c. to $2.43 billion.

Gold imports declined 77.45 p.c. to $1.11 billion; imports of fertilisers, iron & steel, petroleum and transport equipment dipped. Oil imports, at $6.74 billion, were down 8.47 p.c. from August 2015.

After 18 months of continuous decline, exports had posted a small increase in June this year, but fell again in July.The total value of exports during April-August 2016-17, at $108.51 billion, was 2.98 p.c. lower than in the year-ago period. Total imports, at $143.18 billion, were 15.89 p.c. lower.

The trade deficit during April-August 2016 was $34.66 billion, against $58.38 billion in the same period last year. Traders are feeling the pinch, the government is worried and policymakers are brainstorming to come up with measures to boost shipments.The only consolation: A falling rupee, which has depreciated by 4.5% in 2015, has helped exporters in some sectors earn more dollars. Low commodity prices and a global slowdown, driven by faltering Chinese economy, is all set to take exports to their lowest in five years in 2015-16. This in turn could derail the recovery process.

With exports getting affected, and domestic demand subdued, capacity utilisation levels for key sectors will take time to improve, which will delay the recovery process of companies.

In US$ Billion

GST- a way forward for logistic industryIndia’s globally infamous unending queue, uneasy checkmates at our border check posts, filing of waybills/entry permits, compliances under entry tax laws and local levies, are one of the prime reasons why transport costs hovered high for decades. But once the GST implemented , these challenges will become a thing of past, as GST will subsume most of Central taxes and State levies, eliminating the time wasting checkpoints and make diverse verticals across India more efficient through faster deliveries of goods and services. In other words, India a nation of multiple market today will transform into one common market backed by borderless, barrier-less systems permitting free movement of goods and services and therefore GST will facilitate “Make in India by making one India”.

As per the estimates by the experts, logistic sector would witness savings upto $200 billion annually with GST implementation, due to faster movement of goods and minimal idling. Logistic players have started dreaming about a borderless, barrier-less tomorrow when the goods will move on seamlessly. Presently, the logistical costs within India is high and the same is supported by ample evidences. According to one study, for example, in one day, trucks in India drive just 280 kms as against 800kms in US, due to which costs increases

viz. wages of drivers, extra fuel usage due to regular idling, firms are forced to maintain larger inventory and it also limit the location choices, for example, firms has to choose the location closer to suppliers/customers instead of lower-cost location in terms of wages, rent etc.

The Impact of GST on Logistic Industrya. The GST will enables the businesses viz. e-commerce to rejig their

supply chain, since under GST supply chain desigh will be based on demand management and logistical benefits rather than tax costs.

b. The tax procedures will be reduced significantly under GST and the companies would prefer to hold inventory in just one large central warehouse, rather than stocking goods in various smaller warehouses, as the standard rate of taxes would be more or less uniform across India, which will preclude the need for multiple warehouses across states. So, instead of transporters, they will prefer third-party logistics companies that will not only transport but also distribute goods as well as collect money from customers.

c. The companies would enter into long term contracts with logistic companies, lets say for three or four years as against one year unlike today, and theses long term contracts would also give

MCCI NEWS | 7

India’s Top 10 Commodities

India’s Top 10 Commodities of ExportValues In Us$ Millions

Ra nk

Commodity Apr-Aug 2015

Apr-Aug 2016

%Growth %Share

1 Petroleum Products 14,368.04 12,069.73 -16.00 11.052 Pearl, Precs, Semiprecs

Stones9,268.46 9,929.92 7.14 9.09

3 Gold and OTH Precs Metl Jwlery

4,241.08 5,595.88 31.94 5.12

4 Drug Formulations, Biologicals

5,360.79 5,270.26 -1.69 4.82

5 Rmg Cotton Incl Accessories

3,832.39 3,628.67 -5.32 3.32

6 Motor Vehicle/Cars 2,683.57 2,949.69 9.92 2.707 Iron and Steel 2,719.72 2,685.25 -1.27 2.468 Products of Iron and Steel 2,706.80 2,311.99 -14.59 2.129 Marine Products 1,828.21 2,196.75 20.16 2.0110 Cotton Fabrics, Madeups

Etc.2,181.67 2,143.31 -1.76 1.96

Total 111,853.90 109,235.50 -2.34 100.00

India’s Top 10 Commodities of ImportValues In Us$ Millions

Ra nk

Commodity Apr-Aug 2015

Apr-Aug 2016(P)

%Growth %Share

1 Petroleum: Crude 33,616.48 26,282.33 -21.82 18.28

2 Pearl, Precs, Semiprecs Stones

8,568.15 10,071.71 17.55 7.00

3 Petroleum Products 7,977.06 6,263.42 -21.48 4.36

4 Gold 15,445.28 6,111.06 -60.43 4.25

5 Telecom Instruments 6,454.96 5,969.38 -7.52 4.15

6 Coal,Coke And Briquittes Etc

6,246.17 5,272.30 -15.59 3.67

7 Other Commodities 4,687.31 4,952.99 5.67 3.44

8 Vegetable Oils 4,397.64 4,207.04 -4.33 2.93

9 Organic Chemicals 4,574.63 4,067.43 -11.09 2.83

10 Plastic Raw Materials 3,955.82 3,771.51 -4.66 2.62

Total 170,234.29 143,798.24 -15.53 100.00

Data Source: Dgcis, Kolkata

confidence to the logistic companies to purchase new vehicles as per the specification of customer and banks will also ready to extend loan. So, experts feel the contractual business could increase upto 50 per cent, after implementation of GST.

d. The companies and logistic firms will be in a position to use fewer but bigger trucks to transport their consignments, further reducing pollution and curbing traffic congestion. Many companies now would prefer to outsource logistic operations, as lower costs make this viable.

The impact of GST on the retail sector in IndiaThe Indian retail industry is one of the fastest growing industry in the world. Retail industry in India is expected to grow to US$ 1.3 trillion by 2020, registering a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 16.7 per cent over 2015-2020. . India is the fifth largest preferred retail destination globally. The country is among the highest in the world in terms of per capita retail store availability. India’s retail sector is experiencing exponential growth, with retail development taking place not just in major cities and metros, but also in Tier-II and Tier-III cities.

The Government of India has introduced reforms to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in retail industry. The government has approved 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail and increased FDI limit to 100 per cent (from 51 per cent) in single brand retail. With the implementation of GST, which is likely to be done by April 2017, three sectors will benefit the most: retail, FMCG and consumer companies and logistics business. In the retail sector, the implementation means a seamless integration of goods and service transaction across the states. It will have benefit at different stages of the value chain.

First, the procurement of raw materials: movement of goods would become less cumbersome, which opens gates for more suppliers /vendors to merge. Following this, a wider base of distributors would be available as state boundary paperwork will not be a hurdle, resulting to better access and low transportation costs. A favourable environment for a supply chain will reduce in transit inventory that will further reduce the working capital requirement. Simplified taxes & availability of input tax credits can also help fetch better margins.

8 | MCCI NEWS

Published by Shri M. C. Das Dy. Director General, MCC Chamber of Commerce & Industry, 15B, Hemanta Basu Sarani, Kolkata - 700 001 Tel.: 91 33 2248 1502/6329/3123/2262 5070-74, Fax: 91 33 2248 8657, Email: mcciorg@gmail.com, mcciorg@mcciorg.com, Website: mcciorg.com

Editor : M. C. Das, Dy. Director General. Contact Person : S Roy, Asst. Director GeneralPrinted & Designed at : CDC Printers Pvt. Ltd., Tangra Industrial Estate-II, (Bengal Pottery) 45, Radhanath Chowdhury Road, Kolkata - 700 015

For Private Circulation only.

Consequent upon Constitution of GST Council (GSTC) in terms of article 279A of Constitution of India and Section 12of 101st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2016 coming into force w.e.f. 12.09.2016, the first meeting of newly constituted GSTC was held on 22-23 September, 2016 under the Chairmanship of Union Finance Minister. The GSTC has acted proactively and fast on taking forward the initiatives to introduce GST in country as early as on 1st April 2017.As it is, it appears that things are in place and major decisions concerning GST may be taken as anticipated to ensure that GST see the light of the day on 1st April 2017, barring unforeseen situations, which could be political or legal hurdles. Not only this, GSTC has decided the future course of action along with the dates and agenda for the meetings.GSTC has in last two days freezed certain issues by consensus, some of them being–q The GST Council agreed on exemption thresholds: • Exemption from GST for annual turnover less than Rs. 20 lakh for

rest of India, • Exemption from GST for annual turnover less than Rs. 10 lakh for

North Eastern and hill states.q Dual control over the GST assessees in case of goods: • Annual turnover less than Rs. 1.5 crore to be assessed by States,

q Annual turnover of Rs.1.5 crore or more to be assessed under dual control.

Existing Service tax assessees to remain with Centre, (at present 1.1 million service taxpayers) and new GST assessees with annual turnover up to Rs.1.5 crore will be shared with state authorities after due training .

q Agreement to subsume all cesses into the new tax. q Adopted a cross-empowerment model for tax administration under

which tax administrators will use a formula to decide which assessee they will audit or register. The taxpayer will then have to interact with one authority only- either Central or State to avoid dual control.

q GSTC to work on a compensation law and compensation formula; Base year of compensation to states to be 2015-16.

q Only five per cent of the cases would be audited under the GST regime.

q The compounding tax threshold for traders has been set at Rs. 50 lakh. Those with an annual turnover between Rs. 20 lakh and Rs. 50 lakh will have the option of paying a tax rate of one to two per cent instead of the full GST rate.

q All states agree on date and GST likely to be introduced by April, 2017

GST Council : A step ahead for GST Implementation