HYDERABAD: The Telangana government on Friday issued orders exempting micro, small, medium enterprises (MSMEs) and street vendors from paying stamp duty. The move would benefit nearly 1.5 lakh MSMEs and about five lakh vendors.

Street vendors would get a loan of Rs  10,000 at a low interest rate without any guarantee/collateral. The total benefit likely to be availed by them is around Rs  350 crore. Similarly, the MSME sector may get loan support to the tune of Rs  7,300 crore under the Guaranteed Emergency Credit Line (GECL) and Credit Guarantee Scheme Subordinate Debt (CGSSD) schemes. The issue of stamp duty came up at a video-conference held by Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar on Thursday regarding Atmanirbhar Bharat. Bankers and district Collectors informed him about the difficulties faced by MSMEs and vendors in paying the duty of Rs  1,000 and Rs  400, respectively.

The stamp duty is paid on various instruments executed to avail loans from banks and financial institutions under the GECL and CGSSD schemes of Atmanirbhar Bharat. The matter was brought to the notice of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who immediately ordered that a notification be issued exempting MSMEs and street vendors from paying the stamp duty. Accordingly, the Chief Secretary issued GO 92 on Friday. “Though the State government will face a loss of around Rs  20 crore, the loan amount of these sectors will come into the market and benefit the government.Moreover, the mental block of MSMEs and street vendors of paying the stamp duty will be cleared,” an official told Express.

When the issue was brought to the officers’ notice, they resolved it within a day, providing major relief to over six lakh persons. The GO 92 would be operational from August 7 to October 31. The MSMEs and street vendors thanked the Chief Minister. Bankers too have assured them of full remission of stamp duty, which would ensure better and faster implementation of the schemes. This would help small businesses a great deal during the pandemic, the bankers felt.