A large number of items including petrol, diesel, gold, cigarettes will become costlier due to hike in taxes, as proposed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Union Budget for 2019-20.
The finance Minister raised cess on petrol and diesel by Re 1 per litre each. Moreover, customs duty on gold and precious metals has been raised from 10 per cent to 12.5 per cent to mobilise resources.
Basic customs duty has also been raised on an array of products, including tiles, cashew kernels, vinyl flooring, auto parts, some synthetic rubber, digital and video recorder and CCTV camera.
Excise duty of Rs 5 per 1,000 has been imposed on cigarettes of length exceeding 65 mm, whereas 0.5 per cent duty has been levied on chewing tobacco, zarda and tobacco extracts and essence.
On the other hand, certain items such as electric vehicle components, set up boxes, camera module and charger of mobile phones will become cheaper.
Former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley congratulated PM Modi and Nirmala Sitharaman for the budget 2019-20.
“Congratulations to the Hon’ble PM @narendramodi and FM @nsitharaman for the budget 2019-20. The budget besides being a policy document for boosting growth, serves the larger interest of all sectors of the Economy,” Jaitley tweeted.
Meanwhile Union Home Minister Amit Shah took to his twitter account and tweeted, “The #BudgetForNewIndia highlights the exemplary work in key sectors relating to the economy, housing, infrastructure and the social sectors over the last five years and on this basis, ignites a spirit of hope that India can become a 5 Trillion Dollar economy in the coming years.”
“The Budget presented by FM @nsitharaman is a futuristic one. It provides a coherent roadmap for sectors that will drive growth and innovation among our citizens. The emphasis on clean energy and cashless transactions are also steps in the right direction,” he added.
