New Delhi, Jan 9 (KNN) The apex body for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) associations in the country, FISME, has suggested Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to set up a national mechanism connecting governments at the state and centre for seamless feedback and grievance redressal.

The Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (FISME), in its budget recommendations to Sitharaman recently said, “While recording grievances in the public domain itself creates a pressure to address them fast, the systematic study of feedback periodically- say once a year, would lead to reform agenda for Government.”

In order to resolve this challenge, MSME body has asked the Finance Minister that adequate time should be assigned for public meetings and displayed in every office and on its websites. Also, the record of such meetings with MSMEs may be archived for future references, transparency and accountability.

The body has also asked the government to "thoroughly" review the role of Exim Bank and Export Promotion Councils (EPC), institutions which support exports.

"The role of export support institutions/EPCs/Exim Bank needs to be thoroughly reviewed in consultation with the beneficiary group to really help exporters in changed economic realities," FISME said.

MSME body also suggested that delay in refund of Goods and Services Tax (GST) to exporters should be strictly monitored through live dashboards and all public sector enterprises should be mandated to gear up for exports and develop their supply base or ancillaries comprising of MSMEs in India by building their capabilities to boost exports.

On Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), it said that staying out of later, for example RCEP, is not a wise decision for India.

On India’s participation in FTAs and PTAs, FISME suggested that while Multilateral trade Agreements are ideal, the movement there is all but dead.

Free Trade Agreement is a deal or an agreement between two or more countries or a trading bloc that taxes, regulatory laws, quotas and preferences on goods and services to be traded between them will be reduced or eliminated to foster better trading relations and returns.

“Staying out of emerging large FTAs-e.g. Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), is not a wise decision. India’s integration with World trade is deep now and we need to leverage FTAs to benefit from participation in GVCs. If we don’t leverage them right, we shall end up importing almost everything and that too at higher cost.”

The body also requested for amendment in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Insolvency Resolution Process for Corporate Persons) Regulations, 2016 to include the payments due to small businesses from corporate debtors before and during the CIRP within the ambit of ‘insolvency resolution process costs’ as provided for under section 5 (13) of IBC read with regulation 31 of the IBBI regulations.

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