Trade & industry suffered a loss of 75k cr in Karnataka amid COVID second wave: FKCCI

Bengaluru, Jun 18 (KNN) The second wave of COVID-19 has made trade and business community in the state to incurre a loss of Rs 75,000 crore during the lockdown period and also suffered a loss of 10, 000 crore revenue by tax per month, said the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI).

During a media interaction on Thursday, the trade bodyc chairman Perikal M Sundars said that around 30 lakh people lost jobs and it would take nearly two years for the industries to recover from the impact.

FKCCI also urged the government to announce a special economic package of Rs 20,000 crore that includes 50 per cent concession on property taxes, reimbursement of salaries and wages for three months and interest subvention of loans availed from banks and KSFC for six months.

“The government has received revenue in the form of GST of around Rs 84,000 crore, Rs 22,851 crore from the state excise, Rs 16,000 crore from petrol and diesel, and Rs 1,20,000 crore from income tax approximately. Given the difficulty faced by trade and industry, the government should consider allocating at least 10 per cent of the revenue which has been generated by the sector," he suggested.

FKCCI also urged the government to reduce power tax from nine per cent to three per cent so that power cost per unit will come down to around 42 paise which will mitigate the negative effect of the power tariff hike allowed by KERC.

FKCCI also urged the government to start operating buses to enable the staff and employees to travel to the industries as only around 20 per cent of employees.