In a post budget discussion experts give their comments on how it has impacted corporate India.

 R Seshasayee MD, Ashok Leyland says that this budget was a common man’s Budget and did not focus on corporate India. “ I think so long as corporate India is doing well and not looking for sops, I don’t think there is any reason to complain” he says. He feels that it has been a very clean taxation policy that the FM has been following like FBT.

Seshasayee concedes that this Budget is not an inflationary Budget but it can to some extent douse the inflationary fires to some extent.

Rajiv Memani, CEO & Country Managing Partner E&Y thinks that inflation has been a major concern for the FM whether it is custom duty, cement, thereby reducing excise duties selectively on certain areas.

”He wanted to focus on agriculture and education and he has done that but he has not given any significant benefits to corporate India” he adds. He says that service tax on rentals on commercial properties will affect the real estate sector.

“Everyone was expecting that the MAT phase out will happen on a couple of years from now and that was expected and this coming in through will mean that their tax rates will go up by 12-13% depending on what status they were enjoying earlier. So, definitely their income guidance in terms of EPS will go down significantly” points out Memani.

Pawan Munjal, MD & CEO, Hero Honda feels that the budget had been an overall disappointing with no big reforms.

Malvinder Singh, CFO & MD, Ranbaxy Labs echoes the view that Budget has delivered on many aspects but has ignored corporate India to some extent. So overall the Budget is positive from the pharmaceutical industry’s view.” We could have been happier if the R&D incentives would have been for ten years plus” he says.