Union Budget 2000-01 - Major highlights
29 Feb 2000
1
- Fiscal deficit at 5.6 per cent of GDP
- Plan in uniform excise duty at 16per cent to result in revenue gain of Rs 32.52 billion
- Sections 54EA and 54EB abolished
- Income schemes of mutual funds to pay more tax
- Ten per cent income tax surcharge to continue and surcharge on non corporate taxable
income over Rs 150,000 raised from ten per cent to 15 per cent
- Personal taxation remains untouched with no change in rates or exemption limits
- Service tax rates remain unchanged
- Sharp cuts in duty for computers to boost PC penetration in the country
- Custom duty rates at maximum rate at 35 per cent with 10 per cent surcharge
- Investment in second house eligible for capital gains exemption
- Twenty per cent rebate extended to repayment of housing loans upto Rs 20,000 a year
- Further extension on tax incentives for housing sector
- Pension and family pension of gallantry award winners exempt from personal taxation
- Women tax payers to get an additional tax rebate of Rs 5,000
- Tax rebate for senior citizens raised to Rs 15,000 from Rs 10,000
- VRS can be framed and introduced without approval from tax authorities
- Hundred per cent deduction for corporate donations for development of sports
- Hundred per cent tax deductions for setting up vocational training institutes in rural
areas
- Tax deductions increased for higher education loans
- Government to reduce its holding in non-strategic public sector units to below 26 per
cent
- Large doses of tax incentives for venture capitalists
- Government may reconsider the capitalization of weak banks
- Tax regime liberalised and SEBI to be made single-point nodal agency for guidelines
- Plan outlay for central PSUs in power sector raised from Rs 76.26 billion to Rs 91.94
billion
- Progressive corporatisation of public sector service providers in telecommunication,
ports and airports
- Automatic route for overseas investment by Indian corporates liberalised
- Key medical items like oxygen, gloves, etc, exempted from excise
- Indian firms to get more flexibility for undertaking capital account transactions
especially for acquisitions for business abroad in the knowledge-based sectors
- To facilitate development of the government debt market, the legislative framework would
be strengthened and modernised through a Government Securities Act which will replace the
old Public Debt Act, 1944.
- Ceiling on FII investment in individual companies increased to 40per cent
- Dividend tax for corporates increased from 10 per cent to 20 per cent
- Removal of exemption on export income by 20 per cent each year
- Reduction of duty on cellphone equipment from 25 per cent to five per cent
