Auto Dealers Could Be Included In MSME – Gadkari

In a recent interview with Patrika News, Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways of India said, I am not convinced with the logic of not including automobile dealerships, under the umbrella of MSME sector.

Automobile retail dealerships have been raising the voice for re-inclusion in the ambit of MSME sector for quite a while. Earlier Automobile dealerships were treated as MSME but a government notification excluded it in 2017.

Gadkari said, the officials recognize auto dealer as a traders, but I don’t think they are only traders. They not only sell automobiles but perform various functions which can range from components to servicing.

He further added, I received letters from FADA and Mahindra to include the Auto sector in MSME ambit and I will definitely discuss this matter further in Delhi.

Re-inclusion of the Automotive sector under the MSME ambit is a long pending demand and FADA has been strongly following up with government regarding this, said Hansraj Kale, FADA President.

Recently, Union Government announced Rs 3 lakh Cr collateral-free automatic loans for the MSME sector which can rejuvenate the automotive sector to an extent.

The automobile sector was going through slump even much before the coronavirus epidemic. The nation-wide lockdown worked as salt on the wound for automobile dealers and pushed them in deep losses.

The automobile sector just passed through BSVI transition and ongoing long slump due to global slowdown of the economy. The inclusion in the domain of MSME will be a relief and it can act as a stimulus for the automobile sector