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Pre-budget sops make computers cheaper
Friday, 09 January 2004, 20:30 IST
NEW DELHI: India Thursday announced a series of duty cuts that will make air travel cheaper and see substantial reductions in the prices of a slew of products ranging from computers to DVDs to cell phones.
The finance ministry's pre-budget sops will also take more pensioners and those with annual incomes of less than 
150,000 out of the tax net.
"The government has decided to make certain changes, which take effect from January 9, 2004, in the rates of indirect taxes," the finance ministry said in a statement.
Electronic goods like computers and cell phones are now expected to cost less with excise duty on computers halved to eight percent, and that on cell phones halved to five percent.
Recorded video compact discs (VCDs) and digital video discs (DVDs) will be exempt from excise duty.
Heeding the longstanding demand of tourists and domestic travellers, the ministry has abolished the 15 percent inland air travel tax and has also halved the excise duty on aviation turbine fuel to eight percent. This is expected to substantially bring down the cost of air travel.
The government has also abolished the foreign travel tax (FTT) of 500 per passenger to boost overseas travel and business.
For people with salary income up to 150,000 and in whose cases the entire tax payable is deducted at source, the salary certificate furnished by employer to the Income Tax Department will be treated as a tax return. These people will no longer have to file separate tax returns.
Similarly, pensioners who do not have taxable income will be spared from filing returns and would no longer be judged for tax purposes on the basis of the one-by-six scheme - of owning a telephone, or a cell phone, a house or a credit card, holding club membership or undertaking foreign travel.
Customs duty on life saving drugs and medical equipment will be reduced five percent.
The peak customs duty on non-farm products or equipment has been brought down from 25 percent to 20 percent.
Customs duty on project imports with investment of at least 50 million in plant and machinery has been reduced from 25 percent to 10 percent.
Similarly, customs duty on coal has been brought down from 25 percent to 15 percent, while that on nickel has been halved from 10 percent to five percent.
To give a push to the infrastructure sector, customs duty on power transmission and distribution projects has been cut from 25 percent to 10 percent and on electricity meters from 25 percent to 15 percent.
"The customs duty on Information Technology Agreement (ITA) bound items is being reduced as per our commitments," the ministry statement said.
Customs duty on specified raw materials and inputs used for manufacture of electronic components or optical fibres and cables is being reduced from 15 percent to five percent and from five percent to nil.
Customs duty on specified capital goods used for manufacture of electronic goods has been reduced from 15 and 10 percent to zero.
Similarly, specified infrastructure equipment for basic/cellular/internet, V-SAT, radio paging and public mobile radio trunked services and parts of such equipments are being exempted from basic customs duty.
Source: IANS
150,000 out of the tax net.
"The government has decided to make certain changes, which take effect from January 9, 2004, in the rates of indirect taxes," the finance ministry said in a statement.
Electronic goods like computers and cell phones are now expected to cost less with excise duty on computers halved to eight percent, and that on cell phones halved to five percent.
Recorded video compact discs (VCDs) and digital video discs (DVDs) will be exempt from excise duty.
Heeding the longstanding demand of tourists and domestic travellers, the ministry has abolished the 15 percent inland air travel tax and has also halved the excise duty on aviation turbine fuel to eight percent. This is expected to substantially bring down the cost of air travel.
The government has also abolished the foreign travel tax (FTT) of 500 per passenger to boost overseas travel and business.
For people with salary income up to 150,000 and in whose cases the entire tax payable is deducted at source, the salary certificate furnished by employer to the Income Tax Department will be treated as a tax return. These people will no longer have to file separate tax returns.
Similarly, pensioners who do not have taxable income will be spared from filing returns and would no longer be judged for tax purposes on the basis of the one-by-six scheme - of owning a telephone, or a cell phone, a house or a credit card, holding club membership or undertaking foreign travel.
Customs duty on life saving drugs and medical equipment will be reduced five percent.
The peak customs duty on non-farm products or equipment has been brought down from 25 percent to 20 percent.
Customs duty on project imports with investment of at least 50 million in plant and machinery has been reduced from 25 percent to 10 percent.
Similarly, customs duty on coal has been brought down from 25 percent to 15 percent, while that on nickel has been halved from 10 percent to five percent.
To give a push to the infrastructure sector, customs duty on power transmission and distribution projects has been cut from 25 percent to 10 percent and on electricity meters from 25 percent to 15 percent.
"The customs duty on Information Technology Agreement (ITA) bound items is being reduced as per our commitments," the ministry statement said.
Customs duty on specified raw materials and inputs used for manufacture of electronic components or optical fibres and cables is being reduced from 15 percent to five percent and from five percent to nil.
Customs duty on specified capital goods used for manufacture of electronic goods has been reduced from 15 and 10 percent to zero.
Similarly, specified infrastructure equipment for basic/cellular/internet, V-SAT, radio paging and public mobile radio trunked services and parts of such equipments are being exempted from basic customs duty.
Source: IANS