Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today unveiled a budget aimed at boosting infrastructure and foreign investment, the first since the Bharatiya Janata Party led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned for a second term in power.
Here are the highlights of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's budget for the 2019-20:
-The budget has been presented with a 10-year vision in mind. The startups are being given a whole set of tax benefits.
-The budget is for a New India has a roadmap to transform the agriculture sector of the country, this budget is one of hope, says Narendra Modi
-Fully automated GST Refund module shall be implemented; multiple tax ledgers to be replaced by one; invoice details to be captured in a central system
-Basic customs duty on certain items to be increased to promote the cherished goal of Makein India. Import of defence equipment not manufactured in India are being exempted from basic customs duty.
-The government today increased customs duty on gold. According to the Budget proposals, import duty to be hiked on gold and precious metals to 12.5%, from current level of 10%.
-I propose to increase special additional excise duty and road and infrastructure cess each one by 1 rupee a litre on petrol and diesel.
-Nirmala Sitharaman kept the income tax slab rates unchanged but announced a slew of new income tax proposals
-To provide further impetus to affordable housing, additional deduction of 1.5 lakh rupees on interest paid on loans borrowed upto 31 March 2020 for purchase of house up to ₹45 lakh.
-Additional income tax deduction of 1.5 lakh rupees on the interest paid on the loans taken to purchase electric vehicles.
-To discourage the practice of making business payments in cash, the government proposes to levy TDS of 2% on cash withdrawal exceeding ₹1 crore in a year from a bank account.
-PAN and Aadhaar now interchangeable: More than 120 crore Indians now have Aadhar card, therefore for ease of tax payers I propose to make PAN card and Aadhar card interchangeable and allow those who don't have PAN to file returns by simply quoting Aadhar number and use it wherever they require to use PAN.
-Public sector banks to be provided 70,000 crore rupees to boost capital and improve credit.
Published On : 06-07-2019
Source : Live Mint
