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Budget 2026-27: Experts Urge Focus on Ease of Doing Business, GST Fixes

With the Union Budget 2026-27 approaching, tax experts are urging the government to prioritize improving the ease of doing business, citing persistent issues with the GST portal that create compliance hurdles. They recommend measures like resuming physical communication of notices alongside digital ones to prevent penalties for traders. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the budget on February 1, marking her ninth consecutive budget. If she presents the 2028 budget as well, she will equal the record set by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai.

Key Points: Budget 2026-27: Ease of Doing Business & GST Reforms in Focus

  • Simplify business operations
  • Fix GST portal issues
  • Expand opportunities for women
  • Reduce compliance challenges
2 min read

Union Budget 2026-27: Experts call for focus on ease of doing business

Experts call for simplifying business operations and improving the GST portal in the upcoming Union Budget 2026-27, to be presented by FM Nirmala Sitharaman.

"The government should consider restarting physical communication alongside digital notices to avoid such problems. - Manmohan Srivastava Kaju"

New Delhi, Jan 19

With less than two weeks left for the presentation of the Union Budget 2026-27, experts on Monday believe the government should focus strongly on improving ease of doing business and expanding opportunities for women across sectors.

Speaking to IANS, tax expert Manmohan Srivastava Kaju said the government had provided significant relief to taxpayers in the previous budget by increasing the income tax exemption limit to Rs 12 lakh.

"The introduction of GST 2.0, under which tax slabs were reduced to two, was also a positive step," he added.

Looking ahead to the upcoming budget, the expert said the government should prioritise measures that make business operations simpler and more efficient.

"Traders currently face several issues on the GST portal, which often create compliance-related challenges," he noted.

Citing an example, he said many notices are now issued only through the GST portal. As a result, a large number of traders fail to check them regularly, which sometimes leads to higher tax payments or penalties.

"The government should consider restarting physical communication alongside digital notices to avoid such problems," he mentioned.

The Union Budget 2026-27 will be presented in Parliament on February 1 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

This will be the ninth consecutive budget presented by Sitharaman. She has already created a record by delivering the highest number of consecutive budgets after C.D. Deshmukh, who presented seven budgets in a row.

If she presents the budget for the financial year 2028 as well, she will equal the record of late Morarji Desai, who presented a total of 10 budgets across two tenures between 1959-1964 and 1967-1969.

FM Sitharaman was appointed India's first full-time woman finance minister in 2019 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned to power for a second term.

Finance Minister Sitharaman continued to hold the finance portfolio after the Modi-led government secured a third consecutive term in 2024.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

S
Sarah B
Expanding opportunities for women across sectors is the key point for me. We need more than just talk - concrete budgetary allocations for skill development, entrepreneurship grants, and safer transportation to workplaces. That's how you truly boost the economy. 👩‍💼
R
Rohit P
Ease of doing business is crucial for 'Make in India' to succeed. Reducing red tape, single-window clearances, and stable policies will attract more investment. Hope FM Sitharaman focuses on this. She has a good track record, let's see if she can make the system truly user-friendly for the common trader.
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Priya S
While GST 2.0 with two slabs is simpler, the implementation is still messy. The portal crashes during peak filing days. The budget needs to allocate funds for robust tech infrastructure. Also, more focus on rural women entrepreneurs is needed, not just urban sectors.
M
Michael C
Respectfully, I think the article and experts are missing a bigger point. The focus should be on job creation. Ease of business is one thing, but are the policies actually leading to more employment, especially for the youth? That's the metric we should be watching.
K
Kavya N
Madam Finance Minister has done a decent job so far. The income tax relief was a blessing for the middle class. Hoping for more such reliefs and maybe some incentives for digital payments? Also, kudos to her for the record! 🎉 Breaking barriers.

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