2,975 Startups Get Income Tax Benefits: DPIIT

New Delhi, Jan 15 (PTI) As many as 2,975 government-recognised startups have been granted income tax exemptions so far, a senior official said on Monday.

Under Startup India, the government provides income tax exemption.

Joint Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Sanjiv said that as of December 31 last year, 1,17,254 startups have been recognised by the department.

"The number of startups getting income tax benefits was 1,100 till March 2023, and now it has increased to 2,975 startups," he told reporters here.

He added that they are in the process of formulating a standard operating procedure (SOP) for examining and fast-tracking applications for granting eligibility certificates.

This certificate is required to claim tax exemptions. Startups face fund issues in the absence of this

The Startup India Action Plan was announced in 2016.

"We are planning to have a SOP where we will put up all kinds of issues, which come before the inter-ministerial board and try to sort it out. In fact, we have an internal target of March 31, before that, we will finish all the pending applications (about 1,500), which are there for eligibility certificate," Sanjiv said.

He said that meetings will be held every month.

"We will be changing the entire process to increase ease of doing business for startups, where they do not face any...difficulty because they do not have an eligibility certificate," he added.

When asked about the government's support on the intellectual property rights front, the joint secretary said that as many as 1,800 patents are granted to budding entrepreneurs.

About the dip in funding in startups, he said now there is a shift in funding, as they are also looking at debt funds.

"Funding in equity may have reduced, but that does not mean the system is not getting money. Not many startups are taking the equity route...they may be taking the IPO route," he said.

The government has rolled out different schemes for these entities, including the Startup India seed fund scheme, fund of fund scheme, and credit guarantee scheme.