The Institute of Company Secretaries of India welcomed the Budget for the year 2011-12 placed before the Parliament by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Institutional initiatives to deal with corruption and black money proposed in the budget would go a long way in providing clean administration and effective governance.

The announcement by the Finance Minister that the Companies Bill will be placed in the current session of the Parliament is a long awaited development which the professionals have been looking forward to. It will go a long way in providing new growth oriented company legislation in the country.

Providing desired impetus to the infrastructure sector by taking a number of measures towards its growth will help achieve the target growth rate of nine per cent in the next fiscal. The proposed comprehensive policy would further help in developing public-private partnerships for sustainable growth of infrastructure sector.

The institutionalisation of anti-black money systems by adopting five fold strategy such as joining the global crusade against black money, creating appropriate legal framework, setting up of institutions for dealing with illicit funds, developing systems for implementation by announcing comprehensive national policy in this regard. The capacity building of manpower for effective action will enable the Government to bring illicit funds into the mainstream of development and constructive use. Similarly, the setting up of a group of ministers to deal with the increasing corruption would lead to better administration.

The budget not only spared the common man from extra tax burden but enabled individuals and senior citizen tax payers to benefit from the increased exemption limit and by lowering of age limit from 65 years to 60 years for availing of tax benefits available to senior citizens. Further, 15 per cent tax on dividend received from foreign subsidiaries will encourage the Indian companies to repatriate dividend instead of investing it outside.

However, imposition of Alternate Minimum Tax on limited liability partnerships at such a nascent stage of their growth may discourage the new entrepreneurs from adopting it. Self-assessment provisions in the Customs Act is a significant step towards simplification.

The measures to attract foreign investment by allowing mutual funds to accept subscriptions from foreign investors who meet KYC requirements for equity schemes, enhancing FII limit for investment in corporate bonds of companies in infrastructure sector and unlisted bonds with a minimum lock in period of three years would widen the class of foreign investors in Indian market.
The Pioneer