Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the seventh Union Budget for the fiscal year 2024–2025 suggested lowering the basic customs duty on gold, silver, and platinum to 6% and 6.4%, respectively.
Additionally, she suggested lowering the basic customs fee to 15% on mobile phones and chargers. Finance Minister Sitharaman included a provision for the exemption of customs tax on 25 key minerals during the Budget presentation.
Nirmala Sitharaman, the Finance Minister, announced a significant reduction in customs tax on mobile phones and cancer treatments. This will result in a huge drop in their retail pricing. Seafood, leather products, gold, and silver imports will all decrease in price.
“The government will exempt 3 more cancer treatment drugs from Customs duty. I will also reduce basic customs duty on mobile phones, chargers and other mobile parts,” Ms Sitharaman said while presenting Budget 2024 in the parliament.
Reducing import taxes on gold and silver to 6%, as announced by Ms Sitharaman, is expected to increase retail demand and lessen smuggling in the second-largest bullion consumer in the world.
Increased Indian demand for gold might help keep prices in the world from falling further, even if it would also put further pressure on the already weak rupee and widen India’s trade imbalance.
However, the government plans to increase the customs charge on non-biodegradable plastics by 25% and on ammonium nitrate by 10%.
List Of Things That Have Become Cheaper
- Basic Customs Duty on smartphones and mobile chargers will be reduced to 15%.
- Customs taxes on silver and gold are now only 6%.
- Platinum import taxes were cut to 6.4%.
- Three medications used to treat cancer are free from basic customs duties.
- Reduction in the TDS rate for online purchases from 1% to 0.1 %
- Basic Customs Duty is reduced on blister copper and ferronickel.
- The basic customs duty on certain fish feed, shrimp, polychaete worms, and broodstock has been lowered to 5%.
- There is no customs charge on several commodities used in the production of shrimp and fish feed.
- Ammonium nitrate now carries a 10% basic customs duty instead of 7.5 percent.
- The basic customs duty on oxygen-free copper used in resistor manufacturing is no longer applicable.
- For industries like nuclear energy, renewable energy, space exploration, defence, telecommunications, and advanced electronics, customs duties on 25 essential minerals are completely waived.
List Of Things That Have Become Costlier
- Customs duties on ammonium nitrate have increased to 10%, while duties on non-biodegradable plastics have increased to 25%.
- The basic customs charge on some telecom equipment was increased from 10% to 15%.
- The Centre has suggested a 1% TCS on noticed products valued at more than 10 lakh.
- Under the new tax structure, the standard deduction for salaried personnel would rise from Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000.
- The tax deduction for retirees’ family pension has been raised from Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 25,000.
