With economic activity coming to a standstill and causing huge disruption due to the lockdown, Congress leader and former Industries Minister R.V. Deshpande has urged the Centre to treat the lockdown period as ‘zero period’ and ensure that no interest is charged for the loan availed by Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
Since the loan amount could not be deployed for productive purposes, he urged Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to direct banks to not to charge interest on loans.
In a letter to Ms. Sitharaman, he said “MSMEs are deeply hit and they are directly bearing the costs of the shutdown without relief support”. He demanded that the Centre waive interest for six months and reschedule all repayment of loans due from March-September 2020 to the end of repayment period.
He sought waiver of all taxes to local bodies, fixed charges on electrical installations, property tax for next six months, and waiver of all penalties for failure in paying GST, PF, ESI, and TDS during the lockdown.