Quick Review of Budget effects - Indirect Taxes – Customs and Excise

[CS Swati Dodhi]

Quick Review of Budget effects - Indirect Taxes – Customs and Excise

Normal rates of 12 percent for excise duty and service tax maintained

Peak rate of basic customs duty of 10% for non-agricultural products unchanged.

Customs

1. Specified part of electric and hybrid vehicles - Extension of period of concession available for upto 31 March 2015.
2. Specified machinery for manufacture of leather and leather goods including footwear  - Duty reduced from 7.5 to 5 percent.
3. Pre-forms precious and semi-precious stones – Duty  reduced from 10 to 2 perent.
4. De-oiled rice bran oil cake - Export duty withdrawn.
5. Export of unprocessed ilmenite - Duty of 10 percent and  Export on ungraded ilmenite - Duty of 5 percent
6. Air craft maintenaince, repair and overhaul (MRO) industry - Concessions extented.
7. Set Top Boxes - Duty increased from 5 to10 percent.
8. Raw silk - Duty increased from 5 to 15 percent.
9. Steam Coal and Bituminous Coal - Duty equalized - 2 percent custom duty and 2 percent CVD levied on both kinds coal.
10. Imported luxury goods such as high end motor vehicles, motor cycles,yachts and similar vessels - Duty increased.
11. Duty free gold limit increased to Rs.50,000 in case of male passenger and Rs.1,00,000 in case of a female passenger subject to conditions.

 

Excise duty

1. Ready made garment industry - in case of cotton zero excise duty at fibre stage also - in case of spun yarn made of man made fibre duty of 12 percent at the fibre stage.
2. Handmade carpets and textile floor coverings of coir and jute  - total exemption from excise duty.
3. Relief to ship building industry, ships and vessels – No excise duty - No CVD on imported ships and vessels.
4. Specific excise duty on cigarettes, cigars, cheroots and cigarillos  - increased by about 18 percent.
5. Excise duty on SUVs (except SUVs registered as taxies) increased from 27 to 30 percent.
6. Excise duty on marble  - increased from Rs. 30 per square meter to Rs. 60 per square meter.
7. Proposals to levy 4 percent excise duty on silver manufactured from smelting zinc or lead.
8. Duty on mobile phones of price more than Rs. 2000 raised to 6 percent.
9. MRP based assessment in respect of branded medicaments of Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Homeopathy and bio-chemic systems of medicine to reduce valuation Dispute.