Last year I provided relief to individual taxpayers by enhancing the exemption limit as a move towards DTC rates. Although DTC will not be effective from this year, I propose to introduce the DTC rates for personal income tax. I propose to enhance the exemption limit for the general category of individual taxpayers from `1,80,000 to `2,00,000.
Presenting the Union Budget 2012-13 in the LokSabha today, the Union Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee has proposed to increase the duty-free baggage allowance for eligible passengers of Indian origin from Rs.25,000 to Rs. 35,000 and for children upto 10 years from Rs.12,000 to Rs.15,000. The baggage allowance was last revised in 2004.
Large cars currently attract excise duty depending on their engine capacity and length. While presenting the Union Budget 2012-13 in Lok Sabha today, the Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee proposed to enhance the duty from 22 per cent to 24 per cent. In the case of cars that attract a mixed rate of duty of 22 per cent + Rs 15,000 per vehicle, he proposed to increase the duty and switch over to an ad valorem rate of 27 per cent.
Carrying forward the initiatives taken for agriculture and agro-processing sectors, the Government proposed to reduce basic customs duty from 7.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent on sugarcane planter, root or tuber crop harvesting machine and rotary tiller and weeder and parts for the manufacture of these. TheUnion Finance Minister ShriPranab Mukherjee announced this while presenting the Union Budget 2012-13 in Lok Sabha today.
The Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee has announced full exemption from basic customs duty and a concessional CVD of 1 per cent to Steam coal for a period of two years till March 31, 2014. While presenting the Union Budget 2012-13 in Lok Sabha today Shri Mukherjee also proposed full exemption from basic duty to Natural Gas and Liquified Natural Gas and Uranium concentrate, Sintered Uranium Dioxide in natural and pellet form.
The Union Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee, while presenting the Union Budget for 2012-13, has proposed to extend concessional basic customs duty of 5 per cent with full exemption from excise duty/ CVD to six specified life-saving drugs/ vaccines in this year’s budget. He proposed to reduce basic customs duty on soya protein concentrate and isolated soya protein to 10 per cent from the present 30 per cent or 15 per cent respectively.
The Tonnage Tax Scheme introduced vide Finance Act 2005 provides for taxation of income of a shipping company on presumptive basis. Under this scheme, the operating profit of a shipping company is determined on the basis of tonnage capacity of its ships.
In order to further garner additional resources, the Finance Minister has proposed to enhance basic customs duties on completely built units of large cars/ Multi-Utility Vehicles/ Sports Utility Vehicles having engine capacity above prescribed threshold from 60 percent to 75 per cent ad valorem.
The Union Finance Minister ShriPranab Mukherjee today expressed firm commitment to enact the Direct Taxes Code (DTC) Bill at the earliest, after expeditious examination of the report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee. The Bill was introduced in Parliament in August 2010, and was to come into force from April 1 this year. However, the timeline could not be adhered to as the report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the matter was received only on March 9 this year.
It was a realist budget in the difficult economic and political environment. Effort was made towards fiscal consolidation, infrastructure development, revival of manufacturing sector, easing of credit facilities, direct transfer of subsidy etc. Major Tax proposals are as follows:
