New Delhi, Aug. 14 -- The government is working on a plan to substantially ease compliance burdens and eliminate policy bottlenecks as well as procedural hurdles to attract investments, after India's talks for a trade deal with the US stalled over the latter's demand for greater market access to the politically-sensitive agriculture and dairy sectors. The government has asked 37 of its ministries to submit a detailed report on the key compliance requirements that are creating roadblocks for manufacturers, exporters, investors and small enterprises, hurting their ability to conduct their businesses smoothly, three government officials directly involved in the ongoing consultations said on the condition of anonymity. One of the key areas under discussion to boost domestic manufacturing base is reforming the GST (goods and services tax) reimbursement mechanism on the lines of the income tax refund, where an assessee gets refunds soon after the verification of their returns in an automatic, seamless manner, the first of the three officials cited earlier said. During discussions with officials from various ministries and separately with exporters and manufacturers, a key concern that emerged was the lack of an automatic refund mechanism after disputes flagged with a red alert notice are resolved. "Traders currently have to apply afresh to claim refunds even after the dispute is settled and the red alert is removed, creating an unnecessary compliance burden," the second person said. Queries sent to the ministries of commerce, finance, external affairs, the prime minister's office, and the GST secretariat went unanswered. There remain a few challenges for GST refunds, particularly for exporters and MSMEs, such as delays in refunds, and procedural complexities that need to be addressed, Hemant Jain, president, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said. As talks with the US for the bilateral trade agreement reached a stalemate, president Donald Trump imposed an additional 25% punitive tariff on India for buying Russian oil and weapons, taking the total import duty on Indian goods to 50%....