VTA’s suggestion to MSME Minister Gadkari on GECL

Recently Government of India notified the Rs. 3 lakh crore Guaranteed Emergency Credit Line (GECL) Scheme for Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs) under the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan to assist them surge over the economic distress being faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under this GECL scheme, MSMEs borrowers having Rs 25 crores of total borrowing can benefit an additional 20 percent of the loan outstanding from banks, NBFCs and other financial institutions (FI), which is 100 percent guaranteed by the Government of India. The borrowers will have a one year moratorium of repayment, and the interest rate charged by banks/FIs will be capped 9.25 percent, and at 14 percent in the case of NBFCs.

Vidarbha Taxpayers Association (VTA) wholeheartedly submits its gratitude to Government of India for supporting taxpayers by declaring such Covid Relief Package. Further it is highly appreciated that this GECL scheme is also available to retailers and other business even if they are not registered as MSME. However to make this scheme beneficial for majority of taxpayers, VTA submitted few suggestions to MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari.

Shrawankumar Malu – president of VTA submitted that eligibility requirement of having Annual Turnover up to Rs. 100 crore in FY 2019-20 is perfect; however the loan up to Rs. 25 crore is creating a hurdle whereby many MSMEs are unable to obtain the benefit of this scheme. Hence it is most respectfully submitted that Rs. 5 crore (20% of Rs. 25 crore) should be kept as the maximum upper limit to all borrowers subject to all other requirements are fulfilled by the borrowers as required under the scheme.

Tejinder Singh Renu – VTA secretary said, a taxpayer who has already repaid his loan and with no loan now can also be under distress due to this Covid-19 pandemic, hence this eligibility requirement of loan liability should be removed and this facility should be made available to all taxpayers under this scheme. Furthermore it has been brought to the knowledge of VTA that Banks are processing these loan percentages at their discretion; thereby few are getting loan much below 20% or Rs.5 crore, such discretion may please be removed.

Vidarbha Taxpayers Association requests government to make these minor amendments in this GECL so that more taxpayers are benefited.