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| Highlightsnews |
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Our Economy
Bureau
28 February 2003 |
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New
Delhi: Indian Finance Minister Jaswant Singh presented
Budget 2003-04 in Parliament today. The highlights:
- Excise
duty for cars and soft drinks reduced to 24 per cent
from 32 per cent
- Books
of accounts impounded during IT raids will not be retained
beyond 10 days
- Income
tax exemption limit retained at Rs 50,000
- Ten
per cent surcharge for income above Rs 8.5 lakh
- Computer-based
random selection of returns for scrutiny
- Non-core
activities of the IT department to be outsourced
- Surcharge
of 5 per cent on personal income tax to be removed
- Individual
taxpayers having dividend income to get deduction of
Rs 12,000 from Rs 9,000; another Rs 3,000 deduction
allowed in case of government securities
- Corporate
tax structure to remain unchanged
- Central
sales tax ceiling to be cut to 2 per cent
- $100-million
limit on foreign currency loans abolished
- Serious
Frauds Office to be established
- Constitution
to be amended to allow states to levy service tax
- Interest
rate on small savings schemes
- PPF
reduced by 1 per cent from 1 March 2003
- The
Banking Act to be amended to allow majors and acquisitions
in public sector unit banks
- Foreign
direct investment in private banks raised to 74 per
cent from 49 per cent
- Customs
duty on gold cut
- Service
tax on hotels removed
- Expenditure
tax on tourism industry removed
- To
stop extending credit lines to developing countries
- Customs
duty on rough and cut diamonds cut from 15 per cent
to 5 per cent
- Customs
duty on textile machinery reduced from 25 per cent to
5 per cent
- India
to be promoted as global health destination
- Customs
duty on optical fibre reduced from 25 per cent to 20
per cent
- Concessions
under 10A/B for IT to stay
- IT
exemption on pharma, biotech to be at par with IT
- Customs
duty for capital goods for telecom sector cut to 15
per cent
- UTI
-I exempt from dividend distribution tax
- Small
savings scheme rate to be cut by 100 bps
- Small-scale
industries reservations withdrawn from 75 items
- Preloaded
software exempt from excise duty
- Tax
exemption on IT to remain even after mergers and demergers
- Customs
duty on Reference Standards reduced
- Customs
duty exempt on all drugs and materials imported for
clinical trials
- Garments
and fabrics produced by non-profit organisations exempted
from duty
- Basic
customs duty on paraxylene reduced
- Exemption
withdrawn for woolen and other knitted garments
- Excise
duty on garments cut from 12 per cent to 10 per cent
- Excise
duty on pure cotton same at 8 per cent
- Excise
duty on polyester yarn cut to 24 per cent
- Tax
holidays for research and development extended
- No
capital tax on corporatisation of bourses
- Mutual
fund equity schemes exempt from dividend distribution
tax
- 12.5
per cent dividend distribution fund on domestic companies
- Dividend
tax abolished for shareholders
- Customs
duty on specified veterinary drugs and shrimp larvae
reduced
- Excise
duty on tea replaced by Rs 1 per kg cess
- Price
stabilisation fund of Rs 500 crore for tea, coffee and
rubber farmers
- Cash
management introduced in major spending ministries
- Income
tax exemption for corporations set up by Centre, states
for ex-servicemen
- Income
tax benefit for ex-servicemen
- VAT
service tax to be introduced from 1 April 2003
- Special
pension policy with 9-per cent guaranteed returns for
those over 55
- Tax
rebates for senior citizens raised
- For
senior citizens, self-declaration of tax returns will
be accepted
- LTA
restored for government employees
- VRS
up to Rs 5 lakh exempt from income tax
- Customs
duties on hearing aids and wheelchairs down to 5 per
cent
- Tax
deduction for the physically disabled
- Community-based
universal health insurance scheme introduced; life cover
of Rs 30,000
- More
lifesaving drugs under concessional customs duty of
5 per cent
- Customs
duty on opthalmic blanks, life-saving equipment reduced
- Depreciation
rate for lifesaving medical equipment increased to 40
per cent
- Development
of sports infrastructure under public and private sector
initiatives
- Patents
income up to Rs 3 lakh to be tax-exempt
- Tax
break on education expenses up to Rs 12,000 for two
children
- Interest
deductible on IT up to Rs 150,000 to continue on self-occupied
houses
- Antyodaya
Anna Yojana to cover 50 lakh more families
- Allocation
for FY 2003-04 to concentrate on infrastructure development
- Forex
reserves highest ever at $75.5 billion
- Industry
grows by 6.1 per cent
- GDP
growth at 4.4 per cent despite drought
- Priority
given to tax reforms, poverty eradication, education,
manufacturing sector efficiency, infrastructure development
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