In the last Union Budget of the UPA Government, the Finance Minister P Chidabaram showered substantial gains on the personal tax front. However, he has failed to bring about any radical changes in the corporate tax provisions. The domestic hydrocarbon industry, both upstream and downstream, expected the Budget 2008-09 to consider extending fiscal incentives to them on the lines of those given to other core sectors. However, the five per cent duty proposed by the Union Budget on import of naphtha could affect the margins of leading petrochemical producers in the country. The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers plans to take up the issue seriously with the Finance Minister. The Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers Ram Vilas Paswan is expected to meet the Finance Minister and the Prime Minister to discuss the issue of duty on naphtha imports.
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