In its pre-budget memorandum, Retailers Association of India (RAI) said the Union Budget for FY25-26 should focus on generating demand and spurring consumption by offering benefits or concessions in the form of lower taxes to boost the industry
New Delhi: Retail industry apex body Retailers Association of India on Wednesday asked the government to provide lower interest rates to retailers for easier financing while calling to expedite national retail policy to enable ease of doing business, ahead of the upcoming Budget.
In its pre-budget memorandum, Retailers Association of India (RAI) said the Union Budget for FY25-26 should focus on generating demand and spurring consumption by offering benefits or concessions in the form of lower taxes as it will boost the overall consumer sentiment and benefit the retail sector.
Asking for low-cost finance to retailers, RAI said, “There is a need to provide lower interest rates to the retailers through the special announcement in the budget to assure easier financing for the retail businesses.”
The government should allocate a special fund and formulate a special trader finance scheme with SIDBI to help millions of independent retailers across the nation by declaring low-cost loans and relaxing some industry guidelines, it added.
Demanding the retail sector to be considered as an essential service, RAI said, “F&B retail sector needs to be considered as a priority and an essential service. Subsidies and benefits should be given on land rates and other necessities such as electricity.”
Stressing the need to expedite the National Retail Policy to enable ease of doing business, the association said, “There is a need to expedite the formulation and implementation of National policy. We believe that such a step would provide a substantial boost to the retail sector and facilitate ease of doing business.”
RAI also demanded that all the MSME benefits must be extended to retail traders saying that while the government has included retail and wholesale trades as MSMEs and are allowed to be registered on Udyam Registration Portal, the benefits to retail and wholesale trade MSMEs are restricted to priority sector lending only.
“We recommend that retail and wholesale traders should be eligible for all benefits available to other MSMEs,” it added.
The retailers’ body also drew the attention of the government to the risks of the proposed GST hike on products based on price range saying an increase in rate on apparel, footwear, handbags, cosmetics, watches, and other premium products could have significant repercussions on the formal retail sector and consumer sentiment.
“Such increases may jeopardise the formalisation of trade, encouraging a shift toward unorganised markets,” RAI said, adding “to achieve higher collections, the government should adopt a more balanced approach that safeguards the formal retail ecosystem and preserves consumer confidence”.
