Affordability real problem: Kirloskar
In a move to get greater efficiency, transparency and accountability in the income tax assessment process, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will inaugurate the income tax department’s national e-assessment centre (NeAC) on Monday.
“Under the new system, taxpayers will receive notices on their registered e-mails as well as on registered accounts on the web portal www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in with real-time alert by way of SMS on their registered mobile number, specifying the issues for which their cases have been selected for scrutiny,” a Finance Ministry statement said. New Delhi, Oct. 6: Indian auto industry is facing a big structural issue with affordability becoming one of the most serious challenges due to several factors, including headwinds created by government policies, according to Toyota Kirloskar Motor Vice-Chairman Vikram Kirloskar.
With the transition from BS-IV emission norms to BS-VI due in April 2020, he said vehicle prices will go up further, thereby affecting affordability as percentage of EMIs of a consumer’s salary will rise.
“It is a big structural issue that we will have to go through... Affordability is the real problem,” Kirloskar told when asked how the recent steps taken by the government to boost auto industry has helped.
“When demand in auto sector (is low), people are not buying cars how much can the government do?”
Kirloskar said while the government has done a lot of things such as increasing and improving roads, “Some things they have New Delhi, Oct. 6: Automaker Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) has initiated a voluntary retirement scheme for the employees of its manufacturing facility in Bidadi, Karnataka.
The company, which is a joint venture between Japanese auto major Toyota and Kirloskar group, has commenced
done, which I believe have created headwinds for auto sector.”
He cited hike in road tax by many states which has increased the cost of buying.
“It increases the cost (of vehicles), EMI goes up. EMIs as a percentage of a person’s salary start increasing. It is an affordability issue,” Kirloskar said.
When asked about the outlook for the next year, he said it was very difficult the scheme for its unionised employees and supervisory category with a minimum of five years of service at the plant.
Nava-Jeevana Yojane — a voluntary depersonalisation scheme, commenced from September 22, is scheduled to run till October 23. to predict under the circumstances.
“In 2020 we are going to have higher priced vehicles. Already this issue of EMI as percentage of salary, to my mind, is not going to change. It will get worse,” he added.
However, he said, “The way I look at it is that in the last four-five years we have had such good years. It is okay, one year we will go through this. We will relearn ourselves.”
Stating that as manufacturers, current automobile companies cannot control demand, he said, “The economy, growth in the economy is really what is determining the demand. What we have to do is control our cost structure, quality and our productivity, which is what we put all our efforts into.”
Auto industry has been going through a prolonged slump. Total vehicle sales in India witnessed the steepest fall in August since industry body SIAM started recording wholesale vehicle sales data in 1997-98.
Overall vehicle sales in the month stood at 18,21,490 units as against 23,82,436 units in August 2018, a fall of 23.55 per cent.
The onset of festive season in September also failed to lift passenger vehicle (PV) sales with major automobile makers, including Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Toyota and Honda, reporting double digit declines in their respective PV sales.
— New Delhi, Oct. 6: Ahead of a proposed move to fully privatise state-owned fuel retailer Bharat Petroleum (BPCL), the government had quietly repealed the legislation that had nationalised the company, doing away with the need to seek Parliament nod before selling it off to private and foreign firms.
The Repealing and Amending Act of 2016 had annulled “187 obsolete and redundant laws lying unnecessarily on the Statue-Book” including the Act of 1976 that had nationalised erstwhile Burmah Shell.
“The Act has been repealed and there is no need for a Parliament approval for strategic sale of BPCL,” a senior official said.
Keen to get multi-nationals in domestic fuel retailing to boost competition, the government is mulling selling most of its 53.3 per cent stake in BPCL to a strategic partner. Privatisation of BPCL will not just shake up the fuel retailing sector long dominated by state-owned firms but also help meet at least a third of the government’s Rs 1.05 lakh crore disinvestment target. BPCL at the close of market on October 4 had a market capitalisation of about Rs 1.11 lakh crore and a government stake sale could get upwards of Rs 60,000 crore including a control-and-fuel-marketentry premium, officials said.The Supreme Court had in September 2003 ruled that BPCL, as well as Hindustan Petroleum Corp, can be privatised only after Parliament amends a law it had previously passed to nationalise the two firms.