New Delhi: Pet food, biscuit, mouth freshener, footwear, water purifiers and filters and low-value cement would become cheaper and cigarettes, bidis, and set top boxes costlier as a result of the new Union Budget.
Cell phones would continue to remain cheap, as the Budget has extended the customs duty exemption period on their import to June 30, 2009.
Tobacco and tobacco products—the favourites for tax increase each budget—were once again put under a higher tax bracket. Finance Minister P Chidambaram exempted all kind of food mixes from excise duties, saying he should no longer be accused of favouring idli-dosa mixes.
Imported pet food and umbrellas would become cheaper because of result of lower customs and excise duties. Bidis would become expensive because Chidambaram has raised the excise duty on bidis made with the aid of machines and without the aid of machines.
The customs duty on pet foods has been reduced from 30 per cent to 20 per cent, while the excise duty on umbrellas has been lowered to 8 per cent from 16 per cent.
To encourage computer hardware development in India, Chidambaram has exempted equipment like 'flash drive', DVD drive/writer from excise duty.
The excise duty on cement with a retail price of less than Rs 190 per bag of 50 kg has been reduced from Rs 400 per tonne to Rs 350 per tonne.
However, for high-quality cement having a price tag of more than Rs 190 per bag of 50 kg the duty has been raised from Rs 400 per tonne to Rs 500 per tonne.
For pan masala not containing tobacco (mouth fresheners), the excise duty has been reduced from 66 per cent to 45 per cent.
The import of aircraft, including parts, for personal use will attract a customs duty of three per cent, CVD of 16 per cent and special additional duty of four per cent.
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