Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has unveiled her seventh Union Budget for the fiscal year 2024-2025 on Tuesday. Customs duties on cancer medicines and mobile phones will be significantly reduced, leading to lower retail prices for these items. Additionally, the cost of imported gold, silver, leather goods, and seafood is also expected to decrease.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a decrease in customs duties for gold and silver to 6% in order to boost domestic value addition in precious metal jewelry. Additionally, she mentioned the government’s plan to waive customs duty on 25 critical minerals.
Which items have become cheaper?
Following the announcement of Budget 2024, a number of products are expected to see a decrease in prices. Mobiles, chargers, and accessories will now have a reduced customs duty of 15%. Gold and silver will have a duty of 6%, while platinum will be set at 6.4%. Furthermore, three cancer treatment medications will be exempt from basic customs duty.
In addition, basic customs duties on ferro nickel and blister copper have been eliminated by the government. The Finance Minister has suggested an expansion of the list of capital goods exempt from duties for solar panel manufacturing. Customs duties on 25 essential minerals have been completely eliminated, and duties on shrimp and fish feed have been reduced to 5%.
What will get costlier?
The government is planning to raise customs duties, with a 10% increase on ammonium nitrate and a 25% increase on non-biodegradable plastics. In addition, certain telecom equipment will see a rise in basic customs duty from 10% to 15%, resulting in higher prices for telecom products. Plastic products will also become more expensive due to the hike in customs duty. In the previous budget, the Finance Minister reduced import taxes on various components, such as camera lenses, to encourage mobile phone manufacturing in India.
The tax rate on lithium-ion batteries, essential for phones and electric vehicles, was also lowered to reduce production costs. According to the Economic Survey 2024, India’s GDP is projected to grow between 6.5% and 7% this year. Retail inflation has also decreased to 5.4% in 2023-24, down from 6.7% the previous year. The survey, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on July 22, 2024, emphasized the importance of service and growth for the economy. Continuing the trend from previous years, Budget 2024 will be presented in a paperless format. An Interim Union Budget was unveiled on February 1, 2024, as the country geared up for general elections.
The forthcoming budget shows potential for reducing prices of common goods and meeting the needs of different social groups. With the Finance Minister gearing up to unveil the budget, there is great anticipation surrounding the possible revisions and their impact on India’s economic trajectory.
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