Budget 2024: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled Modi 3.0's first Union Budget on Tuesday, July 23, with its key focus areas on centre-state policy coordination, income tax slabs, robust capital expenditure, and better macroeconomic stability. With today's budget, the finance minister's policy announcements have resulted in price reductions for several items.
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The government has proposed raising the capital gains exemption limit on certain financial assets to ₹1.25 lakh per year for the middle and upper middle class. The finance minister also announced that those opting for the new tax regime would increase the standard deduction for salaried employees from ₹50,000 to ₹75,000.
Sitharaman added that securities transaction tax (STT) will be increased on futures and options (F&O) trade from October 1 to discourage retail investors from investing in the risky instrument. The measure was to allay concerns about hyperactive interest in the F&O segment.
"It is proposed to increase the rates of STT on the sale of an option in securities from 0.0625 per cent to 0.1 per cent of the option premium, and on sale of a futures in securities from 0.0125 per cent to 0.02 per cent of the price at which such futures are traded," she said while presenting the Union Budget for 2024-25.
Among the most prominent was the government's slashed import duties on gold and silver to six per cent from 15 per cent, a move industry officials say could boost retail demand and help curtail smuggling in the world's second-biggest bullion consumer. A higher demand for gold from India could boost the global prices, which hit a record high this year, although that could widen India's trade deficit and put further pressure on the ailing rupee.
The Finance Minister said, “For customs, we reduced the number of customs duty rates in 2022-23. I propose rationalising them after reviewing them over the next six months.” Sitharaman said the government will strive to simplify and rationalise the GST tax structure further.
"To enhance domestic value addition in gold and precious metal jewellery, I propose to reduce customs duties of gold and silver to six per cent," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a budget speech earlier today.
Sitharaman also announced an import duty exemption for 25 critical minerals, including lithium. India has been exploring ways to secure lithium supplies, a critical raw material for making electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
1.Mobile phones, mobile parts, batteries, mobile chargers
Basic customs duty is reduced on mobile phones, chargers, and accessories to 15 per cent
2.Gold, silver & platinum
The customs duty on gold, silver reduced to 6 per cent, platinum to 6.4 per cent
3.Cancer medicines, X-ray equipment
Three major cancer treatment medicines and X-ray equipment are exempted from basic customs duty
4.Fish and fish products
The customs duty on fish, broodstock, shrimp, polychaete worms, and fish feed is reduced to 5 per cent
5.Essential metals & minerals
The basic customs duty on ferro nickel, blister copper and 25 critical minerals is removed. The duty for manufacturing resistors (oxygen-free copper) has also been removed.
6.Solar panels, leather goods
The list of exempted items to manufacture solar panels has been expanded, and the customs duty on leather goods has been reduced.
Also Read: LTCG and STCG in Budget 2024: FM Sitharaman announces raising of taxes; check new rates here
1. Plastic and related-goods
The government has increased customs duty on plastic products and related goods.
2.Ammonium nitrate
The customs duty on ammonium nitrate has increased to 10 per cent from 7.5 per cent
3.Telecom equipment
The government has hiked customs duty hiked from 10 per cent to 15 per cent
4.Imported garden umbrellas and laboratory chemicals.
Interestingly, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made history by presenting her seventh consecutive Budget today, surpassing the record of former Prime Minister and Finance Minister Morarji Desai. Sitharaman, who holds the record for the longest Budget speech delivered on February 1, 2020, which lasted two hours and 40 minutes before being cut short.
