Andhra Pradesh Chambers delegation submits pre-Budget representation to Nirmala Sitharaman

A delegation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (AP Chambers), comprising president Potluri Bhaskar Rao, vice-chairman B. Raja Sekhar, past president Muthavarapu Murali Krishna and AP Chambers State Tourism Committee chairman RV Swamy, presented a pre-Budget representation to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Vijayawada on Friday (November 28, 2025).

Their recommendations focused on strengthening the economic ecosystem of Andhra Pradesh (AP); Their key recommendations were to expand the scope of the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) scheme, relax collateral norms and extend interest support to export-oriented MSME and manufacturing clusters and provide tax benefits linked to investment in tourism, hospitality and food processing sectors, accelerate depreciation for capital-intensive infrastructure and facilitate industrial tourism and value-added processing.

Other proposals made by AP Chambers included creating digital automation, artificial intelligence/robotics, energy-efficient equipment and product testing infrastructure to increase efficiency and global competitiveness, giving incentives for development of multi-modal logistics centers in Tier-II/III cities to promote cold chain development, warehousing and reduce freight costs.

The AP Chambers delegation also raised important issues related to GST, including simplification and standardization of GST investigations, especially under Section 67, aimed at preventing harassment of honest taxpayers and ensuring uniform compliance with the rules laid down by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. They wanted faster GST refunds and prevention of duplicate investigations across jurisdictions.