This is how JSW Group chairman Sajjan Jindal critiqued the Union Budget 2018

MUMBAI: JSW Group frontman Sajjan Jindal who is known to not mince words on social media when it comes to putting across his grievances against the government occasionally, on Thursday lauded the government for budgetary announcements related to health and MSMEs but also expressed disappointment over an unchanged corporate tax.

Jindal, who's group's flagship JSW Steel is part of an industry ridden by high costs of raw materials in the recent past also said that the step to replace education cess of 3% on custom duty with a higher surcharge rate will push up prices of raw materials.

This is what he said in his string of posts on Twitter:


I laud the budget for giving health insurance to 10cr Indians. This budget should bring growth in rural India. Great for MSMEs with upto 250 Crs turnover. Moreover, it’s a populist budget and looks good for the economy. #Budget2018 @arunjaitley @PMOIndia

The salaried and the corporate are not too happy with #Budget2018. Corporate tax rate in India is among the highest in the world. The government must revisit the corporate taxation policy. @arunjaitley

Replacing education cess of 3% on custom duty with a surcharge of 10% will have a net impact of 7%. The cost of raw materials for manufacturing industry is bound to go up and the industry will in turn transfer it to the end user. @arunjaitley #Budget2018




The finance minister Arun Jaitley in his budgetary announcement today reduced the corporate income tax rate from 30% to 25% for medium, small and micro enterprises with an annual turnover of up to Rs 250 crore- the ceiling was increased from last year's Rs 50 crore. However, there was no relaxation for big corporates that have been expecting a rate cut since the government came to power.

Corporates from across sectors have often complained of India having a high corporate tax rate with countries across the world bringing it down to relieve their industrialists. Recently, the Donald Trump led government in the United States too brought down its tax rate to 21% from a high of 35% to give private investment a boost in the country.

On the raw materials side, steelmakers in India are at the mercy of imports of coking coal, a key raw material in steelmaking and an important determinant in their margins and overall steel prices.