Honorable Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2025 on February 1, 2025. While the revised income tax slab remains its main highlight, the budget also proposes several amendments to the Basic Customs Duty levied on items from across various categories.
Without any further ado, here’s a list of the items that might get cheaper in the coming days, along with that, a list of the items that have become more expensive.
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Good News! Here’s What’s Getting Cheaper
- Medicines for chronic diseases and cancer, including 36 or 37 crucial drugs, have been exempted from basic customs duties.
- For electronic goods, open cells (among other components) will now levy 5% Basics Customs Duty.
- A total of 28 more items used in mobile phone battery manufacturing are now exempted from the capital goods list.
- To fuel the transition from ICE vehicles to EVs, the government has exempted 35 additional EV battery manufacturing goods from the list of capital goods.
- Additionally, Cobalt powder, lithium-ion battery scrap, Lead, Zinc, and 12 other critical minerals won’t levy Basic Customs Duty.
- Wet Blue Leather, used for making footwear and other leather goods, is fully exempted from Basic Customs Duty.
- Frozen Fish Paste (Surimi) will now levy a 5% Basic Customs Duty for manufacturing and exporting analog products.
- The period for the export of handicrafts is now 12 months, up from six months. If required, businesses can extend this by three additional months. Further, a total of nine items can now be imported without any duty.
- Last but not least, raw materials for shipbuilding have been exempted from Basic Customs Duty for 10 years.
- Two types of shuttle-less looms have been added to the list of fully exempted textile machinery.
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What’s Getting Expensive?
- As of now, the center has proposed to hike the Basic Customs Duty on flat-panel screens (mostly used on televisions, monitors, and other industrial equipment) to 20% (up from 10%). As a result, television with imported panels might start costing more.
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