In a big relief to cooperative societies, the Indian Government, in its Budget 2022-23, has reduced the Alternate Minimum Tax (AMT) to be paid from 18.5% to 15% to provide a level playing field between cooperative societies and companies.

Finance Minister, Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman, has also proposed to reduce the surcharge from the present 12% to 7% for cooperatives with a total income above INR 1 crore and up to INR 10 crore. In her budget speech, she said, “this would help in enhancing the income of cooperative societies and its members who are mostly from rural and farming communities”.

Besides tax relief, INR 900 crore have been allocated to the newly created Ministry of Cooperation for 2022-23. Out of this, INR 624 crore has been earmarked for two centrally sponsored schemes – ‘Digitalization of Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies’ (INR 350 crore), and ‘Prosperity through Cooperatives’ (INR 274 crore).

The Indian cooperative movement has welcomed the provisions in this year’s budget. For more information, read the special issue of The Cooperator, a publication by National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI) on Union Budget 2022-23. 

ICA-AP undertook the mapping research and legal framework analysis of its member countries as part of the #coops4dev project. To know more about India, click here.