Presenting government’s support for the startups, the Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, said that the startups would never be harassed and the government was taking steps to promote them, reported Yourstory.
“I assure you that startups will never be harassed. They have to do the limited activity of registering themselves so that good law is not misused by a few people,” he said.
Stating that there is no such thing as ‘angel tax’, the minister expressed that the government had come out with clarifications that startups would not be asked any questions if they were registered with and recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
“Few investments, which are genuine investments in startups, possibly got notice probably seeking some information. I think there is no harm in giving that information,” Goyal said.
Over the issue of angel tax for the startups, Goyal said, “We have thousands and lakhs of shell companies which the Modi government de-recognised and on which we are taking action, where hawala operators used to create fake equity capital by issuing shares at a huge premium with no business activity at all and using that for money laundering”.
Furthermore, the Startup India initiative was launched in 2016 in order to build a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation and entrepreneurship.
Recently, the DPIIT announced that as many as 24,250 startups have been recognised by the department and are eligible for different tax incentives.
Goyal further added that India would always protect its strategic and economic interests while engaging in multilateral talks.
He urged people to talk, argue, and understand issues and not indulge in creating fear psychosis as the government would never sign on any trade agreement without consultations.