An enterprise shall be classified as a micro, small or medium enterprise on the basis of the following criteria, namely:

(i) a micro enterprise, where the investment in plant and machinery or equipment does not exceed one crore rupees and turnover does not exceed five crore rupees;

(ii) a small enterprise, where the investment in plant and machinery or equipment does not exceed ten crore rupees and turnover does not exceed fifty crore rupees; and

(iii) a medium enterprise, where the investment in plant and machinery or equipment does not exceed fifty crore rupees and turnover does not exceed two hundred and fifty crore rupees.

Calculation of Investment in Plant, Machinery or Equipment:

(1) The calculation of investment in plant and machinery or equipment will be linked to the Income Tax Return (ITR) of the previous years filed under the Income Tax Act, 1961.

(2) In case of a new enterprise, where no prior ITR is available, the investment will be based on self-declaration of the promoter of the enterprise and such relaxation shall end after the 31st March of the financial year in which it files its first ITR.

(3) The expression “plant and machinery or equipment” of the enterprise, shall have the same meaning as assigned to the plant and machinery in the Income Tax Rules, 1962 framed under the Income Tax Act, 1961 and shall include all tangible assets (other than land and building, furniture and fittings).

(4) The purchase (invoice) value of a plant and machinery or equipment, whether purchased first hand or second hand, shall be taken into account excluding Goods and Services Tax (GST), on self-disclosure basis, if the enterprise is a new one without any ITR.

(5) The cost of certain items specified in the Explanation I to sub-section (1) of section 7 of the Act shall be excluded from the calculation of the amount of investment in plant and machinery.

Calculation of Turnover:

(1) Exports of goods or services or both, shall be excluded while calculating the turnover of any enterprise whether micro, small or medium, for the purposes of classification.

(2) Information as regards turnover and exports turnover for an enterprise shall be linked to the Income Tax Act or the Central Goods and Services Act (CGST Act) and the GSTIN.

(3) The turnover related figures of such enterprise which do not have PAN will be considered on self-declaration basis for a period up to 31st March, 2021 and thereafter, PAN and GSTIN shall be mandatory.

IEC

The Importer -Exporter Code (IEC) is a key business identification number which is mandatory for Exports or Imports. No person shall make any import or export except under an IEC Number granted by the DGFT. In case of import or export of services or technology, the IEC shall be required only when the service or technology provider is taking benefits under the Foreign Trade Policy or is dealing with specified services or technologies

The nature of the firm obtaining an IEC may be any of the follows- “Proprietorship, Partnership, LLP, Limited Company, Trust, HUF and Society.” Consequent upon introduction of GST, IEC number is the same as the PAN of the firm. The IEC would be separately issued by DGFT.