Budget Expectations:

Overall expectations of the Pharma Industry in India from the Union Budget perspective was very modest this year. The key areas were as follows:

- To encourage  innovation, in-house R&D exemption limit was expected to be raised from 200 percent to 250 percent

- Excise duty rationalization was expected on:

Formulations (5 percent)
API (10 percent)

- A reduction of MAT (20 percent) was expected on SEZ

Union Budget Proposals:

Status quo

Impact:

In view of this scenario, there has been virtually no sector-specific direct impact of the Union Budget 2015-16 on the Pharma Industry. This critical sector seems to be out of focus of the Government from the budget perspective, at least for now.

By: Tapan J. Ray

Disclaimer: The views/opinions expressed in this article are entirely my own, written in my individual and personal capacity. I do not represent any other person or organization for this opinion.