Budget 2026-27: Finance ministry seeks suggestions from trade and industry

With preparations of the Union Budget 2026-27 underway, the finance ministry has sought suggestions from trade and industry with particular focus on reducing compliances and improving stability in tax regimes.

“You may also like to give your suggestions for reducing compliances, for providing tax certainty and reducing litigations,” it has said in a letter to industry and trade associations, adding that they may like to send suggestions for changes in the duty structure, rates and broadening of tax base on both direct and indirect taxes giving economic justification for the same.

In its letter, the revenue department has also indicated that there should not be representations for tax giveaways noting that the government policy on direct taxes in the medium term is to phase out tax incentives, deductions and exemptions while simultaneously rationalising the rates of tax.

“It would be also desirable that while forwarding the suggestions and recommendations, positive externalities arising out of the said recommendations and their quantification are also indicated,” it has further said.

It has also reminded that goods and services tax (GST) related requests are not examined as part of Annual Budget.

Requests for correction of inverted duty structure, if any for a commodity, should necessarily be supported by value addition at each stage of manufacturing of the commodity, it has further said.

Revenue Secretary Arvind Shrivastava has also met trade and industry associations in recent weeks to seek inputs from them for the Union Budget and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to hold pre-Budget deliberations with various stakeholders from later this month.

Over the last one year, the government has already undertaken significant reforms in both income tax including tax relief for individual taxpayers and has also recently unveiled and implemented next generation reforms under GST. The expectation now is that the Union Budget will prioritise system and process reforms in tax systems to improve compliance and provide ease of doing business to industry and other taxpayers.