TAX PROPOSALS
Direct Taxes- Exemption limit for the general category of individual taxpayers enhanced from ` 1,60,000 to ` 1,80,000 giving uniform tax relief of ` 2,000.
- Exemption limit enhanced and qualifying age reduced for senior citizens.
- Higher exemption limit for Very Senior Citizens, who are 80 years or above.
- Current surcharge of 7.5 per cent on domestic companies proposed to be reduced to 5 per cent.
- Rate of Minimum Alternative Tax proposed to be increased from 18 per cent to18.5 per cent of book profits.
- Tax incentives extended to attract foreign funds for financing of infrastructure.
- Additional deduction of ` 20,000 for investment in long-term infrastructure bonds proposed to be extended for one more year.
- Lower rate of 15 per cent tax on dividends received by an Indian company from its foreign subsidiary.
- Benefit of investment linked deduction extended to businesses engaged in the production of fertilisers.
- Investment linked deduction to businesses developing affordable housing.
- Weighted deduction on payments made to National Laboratories, Universities and Institutes of Technology to be enhanced to 200 per cent.
- System of collection of information from foreign tax jurisdictions to be strengthened.
- A net revenue loss of ` 11,500 crore estimated as a result of proposals.
Indirect Taxes
- To stay on course for transition to GST.
- Central Excise Duty to be maintained at standard rate of 10 per cent.
- Reduction in number of exemptions in Central Excise rate structure.
- Nominal Central Excise Duty of 1 per cent imposed on 130 items entering in the tax net.
- Lower rate of Central Excise Duty enhanced from 4 per cent to 5 per cent.
- Optional levy on branded garments or made up proposed to be converted into a mandatory levy at unified rate of 10 per cent.
- Peak rate of Custom Duty held at its current level.
Agriculture and Related Sectors
- Scope of exemptions from Excise Duty enlarged to include equipments needed for storage and warehouse facilities on agricultural produce.
- Basic Custom Duty reduced for specified agricultural machinery from 5 per cent to 2.5 per cent.
- Basic Custom Duty reduced on micro-irrigation equipment from 7.5 per cent to 5 per cent.
- De-oiled rice bran cake to be fully exempted from basic Custom Duty. Export
- Duty of 10 per cent to be levied on its export.
Manufacturing Sector
- Basic Custom Duty reduced for various items to encourage domestic value addition vis-à-vis imports, to remove duty inversion and anomalies and to provide a level playing field to the domestic industry.
- Rate of Export Duty for all types of iron ore enhanced and unified at 20 per cent ad valorem. Full exemption from Export Duty to iron ore pellets.
- Basic Custom Duty on two critical raw materials of cement industry viz. petcoke and gypsum is proposed to be reduced to 2.5 per cent.
- Cash dispensers fully exempt from basic Customs Duty.
Environment
- Full exemption from basic Customs Duty and a concessional rate of Central
- Excise Duty extended to batteries imported by manufacturers of electrical vehicles.
- Concessional Excise Duty of 10 per cent to vehicles based on Fuel cell technology.
- Exemption granted from basic custom duty and special CVD to critical parts/assemblies needed for Hybrid vehicles.
- Reduction in Excise Duty on kits used for conversion of fossil fuel vehicles into Hybrid vehicles.
- Excise Duty on LEDs reduced to 5 per cent and special CVD being fully exempted.
- Basic Customs Duty on solar lantern reduced from 10 to 5 per cent.
- Full exemption from basic Customs Duty to Crude Palm Stearin used in manufacture of laundry soap.
- Full exemption from basic Excise Duty granted to enzyme based preparation for pre-tanning.
Infrastructure
- Parallel Excise Duty exemption for domestic suppliers producing capital goods needed fproducinsion of existing mega or ultra mega power projects.
- Full exemption from basic Customs Duty to bio-asphalt and specified machinery for application in the construction of national highways.
Other Proposals
- Scope of exemptions from basic Customs Duty for work of art and antiquities extended to apply for exhibition or display in private art galleries open to the general public.
- Exemption from Import Duty for spares and capital goods required for ship repair units extended to import by ship owners.
- Concessional basic Custom Duty of 5 per cent and CVD of 5 per cent available to newspaper establishments for high speed printing presses extended to mailroom equipment.
- Jumbo rolls of cinematographic film fully exempted from CVD by providing full exemption from Excise Duty.
- Out right concession to factory-built ambulances from Excise Duty.
- Relief measures proposed for raw pistachio, bamboo for agarbatti, lactose for the manufacture of homoeopathic medicines, sanitary napkins, baby and adult diapers.
- Proposals relating to Customs and Central Excise estimated to result in a net revenue gain of ` 7,300 crore.
Service Tax
- Standard rate of Service Tax retained at 10 per cent, while seeking a closer fit between present regime and its GST successor.
- Hotel accommodation in excess of ` 1,000 per day and service provided by air conditioned restaurants that have license to serve liquor added as new services for levying Service Tax.
- Tax on all services provided by hospitals with 25 or more beds with facility of central air conditioning.
- Service Tax on air travel both domestic and international raised.
- Services provided by life insurance companies in the area of investment and some more legal services proposed to be brought into tax net.
- All individual and sole proprietor tax payers with a turn over upto ` 60 lakh freed from the formalities of audit.
- To encourage voluntary compliance the penal provision for Service Tax are being rationalised. Similar changes being carried out in Central Excise and Custom laws.
- Proposals relating to Service Tax estimated to result in net revenue gain of ` 4,000 crore.
- Proposals relating to Direct Taxes estimated to result in a revenue loss of ` 11,500 crore and those related to Indirect Taxes estimated to result in net revenue gain of ` 11,300 crore.
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