New Delhi, Mar 16: Following are the direct, indirect tax proposals highlights in Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's budget speech in Parliament today:
-- Income Tax Exemption Limit Raised From Rs 1.8 Lakh to Rs 2 Lakh, Upper Tax Slab Raised From Rs 8 Lakh to Rs 10 Lakh.
-- Income Tax Rates: Upto Rs 2 Lakh - Nil, Rs 2 lakh-5lakh - 10 pc, Rs 5lakh-10lakh - 20 pc, above rs 10 lakh - 30 per cent.
-- Service Tax Rate Raised from 10 pc to 12 pc Across All services Except Those in Negative List And Exemption List
-- Service Tax Rate Hike To Raise Rs 18,550 crore revenue
-- Service Tax On All Services Except Those In Negative List and Exemption List including Higher School Education, rent on residential properties, large parts of public transport, animal hubandry services, health care by charitable trusts, individual advocates, journalists and car parking
-- All services except 17 in the negative list to be brought under service tax net.
-- No change in corporate tax rate.
-- Team to study common tax code for service tax and central excise to be set up.
-- Copyright relating to cinematography in film industry exempted from service tax.
-- Direct taxes proposals to result in net revenue loss of Rs 4,500 crore.
-- Standard excise duty rate raised from 10 per cent to 12 per cent.
-- Introduction of compulsory reporting of assets held abroad.
-- Securities Transaction Tax (STT) reduced from 0.125 per cent to 0.1 per cent.
-- Capital gains tax on residential property exempted if sale proceeds used for SMEs.
-- Tax exemption of up to Rs 5,000 for health insurance for annual preventive health checkup.
-- Withholding tax on power, airlines, road and bridges, ports and shipyard, fertilisers, dams and affordable houses lowered to 5 pc from 20 pc for 3 years.
-- Cars to attract ad valorem rate of 27 per cent.
-- No change in the peak rate customs duty.
-- Import of equipment for fertilizer plants fully exempt from customs duty for three years.
-- Full exemption from basic customs duty on natural gas, LNG, uranium for generation of electricity for two years.
-- Full exemption from basic customs duty for equipment for road and highway construction.
-- Customs duty on import of parts of aircraft, tyres and testing equipment fully exempted.
-- Excise duty on handmade and semi-mechanised matches reduced from 10 to 6 per cent.
-- Withholding tax on power, airlines, road and bridges, ports and shipyard, fertilisers, dams and affordable houses lowered to 5 pc from 20 pc for 3 years.
-- LCD TVs, LEDs, Bicycles to cost less, big cars to cost more.
-- Customs duty on gold raised.
-- AC, Refrigerators, SUVs, Phone Bills, Cigarettes to cost more.
-- Customs duty on standard gold bar and coins exceeding 99.5 per cent purity, platinum and non-standard gold raised.
-- Oil cess on domestic crude raised to Rs 4,500 per ton from Rs 2,500 per ton.
-- Import duty on large cars, MUVs, SUVs enhanced.
-- Gold jewellery not bearing brand name to be included in the one per cent levy on precious metal jewellery.
-- Branded silver jewellery fully exempted from excise duty.
-- Customs and central excise proposals to net a revenue of Rs 27,280 crore.
-- Baggage allowance for people of Indian origin increased from Rs 25,000 to Rs 35,000 and for children from Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000.
-- Customs duty on imported bicycles and parts increased.
-- Excise duty on all processed food brought down to merit rate of 6 per cent.
-- Installation of solar plants exempted from CVD.
