Budget 2023: Govt can bolster working capital for e-commerce suppliers - Vidit Aatrey

As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gets ready to present the Union Budget for 2023-24, the industry is hoping for measures to be announced that will fuel overall economic growth. Budget 2023-24 is an important one as it comes a year ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, and also as it comes amid a global slowdown and several geo-political tussles.

While 2022 was a year of recovery after two years of Covid disruptions, the industry is looking forward to consolidating the gains from 2022 this year and witnessing growth across sectors.

“Budget 2023 gives our visionary government an opportunity to put our MSMEs in the fast lane, building on its proactive efforts to transform the small business economy,” remarked Vidit Aatrey, Founder & CEO, Meesho, while sharing his expectations from the Union Budget 2023-24.

Adding further, he said, “First, the government can bolster working capital for e-commerce suppliers by lowering GST on input services like logistics and facilitating refunds of accumulated input tax credit. Over April-November 2022, ~2.9 lakh sellers on Meesho dealing in products that attract <18% GST saw input tax credit accumulation of Rs 265 crore.”

He added, “Expediting the implementation of GST relaxation norms for small online businesses will allow millions of them to realize their full potential.”

With the National Logistics Policy bringing down costs for the ecosystem and strengthening distribution networks, Aatrey said that the government could leverage the unmatched reach of India Post and Indian Railways to help MSMEs meet rising e-commerce demand from small towns and villages in a fast and reliable manner, thereby boosting their competitiveness.