Patni urges extension of tax benefits under STPI scheme

Mr Surjeet Singh, Chief Financial Officer, Patni

The IT industry has been an engine of growth for India and we hope that the government's Union Budget for 2011 will help continue its upward growth trajectory.

We urge the government to extend the tax benefits under the STPI scheme for another year or two to empower growth of small and medium sized companies. The exemptions under 10(A) and 10(B) was unaddressed in last year's budget and we are hopeful that they are adequately addressed this year.

The last budget's plan on the increase in rate of minimum alternate tax (MAT) from 15-18% saw adverse affects on the short term cash flow of many companies and we look forward to a revision back to 15% this year.

We also hope the government can reduce the uncertainty around the double taxation for software companies. The government has also been extremely supportive of the industry through their recent policies on R&D. However, we see that there is still  immense scope for growth in the segment which will be facilitated by the tax sops, leading to increased investments in R&D and innovation.