he monthly refund of tax paid on plant and machinery for five years, the removal of structural and procedural inefficiencies, and the release of credit blockages will unlock working capital for businesses putting up new lines. Additionally, treating contract manufacturing for foreign principals as an export will give a fillip to manufacturers relocating parts of their supply chains. This decision places Indian processing or assembly operations on the same tax footing as their competitors elsewhere. "As the scope of refunds under the inverted rate structure is expanded to include input services and capital goods, arguably as much as 2% to 3% of the top line can be liquidated and be invested back into business," said Nimish Bhatia, partner, PwC.