You will have to pay more for cigarettes, pan masala, tobacco products and branded jewellery, but housewives will be a happier lot with the relief offered on edible oil, vanaspati, match boxes, tea and some other kitchen items in the Union Budget for 2005-06.

Virtually playing to the gallery, Finance Minister P Chidambaram sought to please the lower and middle-class women folks by reducing the duty on imitation jewellery but more than made up for the concession by hiking the tax on high-value branded jewellery.

Let's take a quick look at what could become more expensive and what will cost lesser now.

What will cost more

• Branded jewellery will become more expensive with the levy of 2% excise duty;
• Petrol and diesel to cost Rs 0.50 more per litre;
• Cigarettes and tobacco products will be costlier. Bidis spared;
• Paan masala
• Memberships of clubs and associations and packaging will cost more;
• Imported cut flowers like orchids;
• Mosaic tiles;
• Road tractors;
• Withdrawing of over Rs 10,000 in cash on a single day from a bank. You will need to pay Rs 10 as tax on this;
• With the proposal to levy a 4% countervailing duty on information technology products, IT hardware will become more expensive. Software, however, has been exempted from the proposed duty;
• Construction items like steel; and
• Cement because of the proposal to hike excise duty.

What is cheaper

• Air-conditioners, cellphones;
• Imported fabrics and garments;
• Cakes and pastries will become cheaper;
• Metal inputs like coking coal and calcined alumina;
• Tea, vanaspati, edible oils may cost less.
• Imitation jewellery to cost less.
• Textile imports get cheaper as customs duty on textiles has been reduced 20% to 10%.
• Edible oil & vanaspathi to become cheaper.
• Polyster imports get cheaper as customs duty on polyester products down 20% to 15%.