T.N. Minister lists steps taken to ease burden on MSMEs following electricity tariff hike

Minister for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) T.M. Anbarasan informed the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on Wednesday (April 8, 2025) about the steps taken by the DMK government to reduce the burden on MSMEs following the revision of the electricity tariff.

Minister for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) T.M. Anbarasan informed the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on Wednesday (April 8, 2025) about the steps taken by the DMK government to reduce the burden on MSMEs following the revision of the electricity tariff. He also dismissed claims regarding the closure of operations of some MSME units in the State.

The Minister said, in September 2022, the electricity tariff, fixed charges, and peak-hour charges were revised, after eight years. However, several associations of MSMEs had appealed to the State government to reconsider the electricity tariff hike. After careful consideration of the associations’ requests, and based on the directions of the Chief Minister, the peak-hour consumption charges were reduced from 25% to 15%, and the collection of revised peak-hour charges was deferred until the installation of smart meters.

He further said steps were taken for the MSMEs to opt for load reduction four times a year and get additional load whenever required. The rooftop solar network charges for MSMEs were reduced by 50%. In the last two years, a total of ₹607.63 crore has been provided as subsidy on electricity by the MSME department, he added.

Regarding the issue of MSMEs in Tamil Nadu shutting down their operations, the Minister said, “A new provision of the Income Tax Act mandates that large businesses purchasing goods from MSMEs must settle payments within a specific timeframe to claim tax deductions. Since large businesses face some difficulties in settling payments within stipulated time, they either avoid purchasing goods from MSMEs registered in Udyam portal or force the MSMEs to cancel Udyam registration. As a result, some MSMEs have cancelled their Udyam registration. However, those MSMEs continue to operate. So, it cannot be concluded that such MSMEs have shut down their operations.”