Coimbatore: The Federation of Coimbatore Industrial Associations (FOCIA) has submitted representations to Tamil Nadu Commercial Taxes and Registration Minister P. Lokesh Tamilselvan and MSME Minister P. Madhan Raja, seeking the removal of hurdles that prevent small-scale entrepreneurs from availing government subsidies and urging a resolution to issues related to the registration and renewal of industrial associations.
Speaking on the issue, FOCIA coordinators James, Surulivel and Sivasanmuga Kumar said that industrial associations continue to face significant challenges in updating and renewing their registrations with the Registration Department.
According to them, partnership firms and registered associations are instructed to upload renewal documents online and subsequently submit the same documents in person at registration offices. Despite complying with these requirements, approvals are often delayed for several months. Officials allegedly do not communicate deficiencies through phone calls, SMS or email, forcing applicants to make repeated visits to registration offices to seek clarifications.
They further stated that several registration records are not traceable in the system, while officials often attribute the delays to software-related issues. In some cases, associations that have been functioning for years are reportedly informed that annual payments have not been made or that registrations have not been renewed, despite all procedures having been completed. FOCIA has requested the Minister to issue necessary directions to ensure prompt renewal of registrations for industrial associations.
In a separate representation to the MSME Minister, FOCIA highlighted concerns over the implementation of the capital subsidy scheme for machinery purchases by micro and small enterprises. The Tamil Nadu Government currently provides subsidies ranging from 25 to 35 per cent to encourage industrial growth and employment generation.
However, FOCIA said several genuine MSME entrepreneurs are reportedly being denied subsidies because of restrictive eligibility criteria. According to the federation, District Industries Centres reject applications unless applicants demonstrate a 25 per cent increase in production within three months of installing new machinery.
The federation pointed out that many job-order-based MSMEs operate in highly cyclical markets and do not receive consistent orders throughout the year. While some years witness strong demand, others experience a severe shortage of orders, making it difficult for enterprises to achieve the prescribed production growth targets within a short timeframe.
FOCIA has urged the government to review and rationalise subsidy eligibility norms and introduce practical guidelines that enable genuine MSMEs to access the benefits of the scheme.
The federation expressed confidence that timely government intervention would help strengthen the MSME ecosystem, improve the ease of doing business and support sustainable industrial growth in the State.