Hyderabad, Aug 8 (KNN) In a bid to unburden and give some relief to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and street vendors in COVID-19 crisis, the Telangana government has decided to remit the stamp duty in full, payable for loans availed by them under Guaranteed Emergency Credit Line Scheme (GESL), Credit Guarantee Scheme for Subordinate Debt (CGSSD) and PM Street Vendor’s Atmanirbhar Nidhi.

Reportedly, the decision comes in the wake of directions issued by Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao to Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar to issue notification exempting MSMEs and street vendors from paying stamp duty.

Accordingly, the Chief Secretary issued a Government order (GO) on Friday which will benefit more than one lakh MSMEs and about 3.5 lakh street vendors.

The issue was highlighted on Thursday during a webinar conducted by the Chief Secretary on performance of “Atmanirbhar Bharat” scheme for MSMEs and street vendors where bankers and collectors pointed out that MSMEs and street vendors are facing difficulty in paying stamp duty of Rs 1,000 and Rs 400 each respectively.

''Street vendors will get a loan of Rs. 10,000 each at a very low interest rate without any guarantee or collateral. The total benefit to the street vendors is likely to be Rs 350 crore. Similarly, MSME sector may get loan support to the tune of Rs 7,300 crore in two Atmanirbhar Bharat Schemes, the GECL and CGSSD,'' said the Chief Secretary.

The government order will be in operation from August 7, 2020, till October 31,2020.

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.