With the government slashing corporate tax rate, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on December 20 said that she expects new investments from the business houses and reiterated that there has been no interference by government in the operations of public sector banks.

While addressing the annual general meeting of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), Sitharaman called out public sector banks (PSBs) for not passing on benefits of rate cuts to consumers. "We have looked at where liquidity was stuck together with the banks and the Reserve Bank of India, but PSBs must move more liquidity out in the system," she said.

"We have assured banks that they have to be professional on decisions, but there has been no interference by the government in the banks' decision-making process. Hold it against PSBs that they have not passed on the benefits of rate cuts to consumers," she added.

Sitharaman also spoke about the government's work in the realty sector and highlighted that the Centre has formulated a task group to get projects in the pipeline sanctioned.

"A list of 50 realty projects have asked to be a part of the government's Alternative Investment Fund (AIF), and nearly 10 are ready for clearance - they will get money upfront," she added.

She also addressed concerns about Medium and Small Enterprises and said that they can approach any PSB to sort out their finances. "We have made sure that stressed MSMEs will not be declared as non-performing assets (NPAs). MSMEs can approach any PSB to sort their finances out."

The Finance Minister further re-iterated that the faceless tax collection system would be implemented soon and that this system would also be applied to Goods and Services Tax collections besides Income-Tax or Corporate Tax.

"Tax notice without Director Identification Number (DIN) number can be rejected by the taxpayer. The faceless assessment will decide what you need to pay, no under the table," she said.