A string of measures includes specific provisions in rules governing anti-dumping, safeguards, and basic Customs duties.
Glass shortage in China and the rising prices of imported glass used in finished solar panels have already hit the cost of solar panel imports. The cost of solar modules imported by India have increased 22 per cent since June last year. India imports close to 90 per cent of its solar cells and modules, of which nearly 80 per cent is from China. Domestic solar equipment makers import glass panels and are the largest suppliers in China. The price of a solar module glass has increased 150 per cent in the past six months, revealed industry estimates.
Large trade deficit and rupee decline against the US dollar are putting pressure on the CAD, and these steps are likely to have a positive impact on the external sector.
Excise duty cut to boost Polymers sector.
India's gross tax collections soared to a record high of Rs 27.07 lakh crore in the fiscal year ended March 31, led by impressive growth in corporate tax and customs, taking the tax-to-GDP ratio to an over two-decade high of 11.7 per cent, Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj said on Friday.
With the United States adopting protectionist policies and hiking import duties, a trade war like situation has emerged.
Before 2019, an estimated 22 million individual income-tax returns did not have to pay any taxes. But after the change in the exemption level, another 13 million individual tax returns did not require to pay taxes. Thus, of about 58 million returns, as much as 63 per cent or 35 million went out of the direct tax net, A K Bhattacharya points out.
In the midst of third wave of COVID-19, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has come up with an impactful Budget which is balanced, fiscally prudent and growth-oriented, the USA India Chamber of Commerce has said. President of the Boston-based USA India Chamber of Commerce (USAIC) Karun Rishi, however, said it is a matter of concern that the budget lacks tangible measures to increase revenue generation. "Opting to keep the fiscal deficit at 6.9 per cent and increase capital expenditure by 35 per cent is a masterstroke. "The annual budget estimates the effective capital expenditure of Rs 10.68 lakh crore in 2022-23, making up about 4.1 per cent of the GDP," he said. "A phenomenal increase in the government's capital expenditure is likely to facilitate the expenditures on infrastructure and create jobs.
The finance minister could well be on her way to setting a record of achieving the biggest single-year reduction in the government's fiscal deficit, explains A K Bhattacharya.
The onslaught of Chinese mobile brands is virtually obliterating Indian brands, especially in terms of value. According to industry estimates based on excise and Custom duty trends, the value share of Indian brands (across smartphones and feature phones, operator phone sales - which is mostly Jio phones - and the value of phones smuggled into the country) has dropped to a mere 1.2 per cent in January-October 2021 compared to 25.4 per cent in the calendar year 2015. In the same period, the Chinese have established their domination, hitting a value share of 64.5 per cent, up from 17.8 per cent.
SII's CEO Adar Poonawalla took to Twitter to announce the "philanthropic" gesture.
The Union government's fiscal deficit works out to be Rs 5.47 lakh crore or 36.3 per cent of the budget estimates at the end of October 2021 on the back of improvement in revenue collection, according to the data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) on Tuesday. The deficit figures in the current fiscal appear better than the previous financial year when the gap between expenditure and revenue had soared to 119.7 per cent of the last year's Budget Estimates (BE) mainly on account of a jump in expenditure to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit was Rs 5,47,026 crore at the end of October, the CGA said.
This import duty exemption would remain in force till October 31 this year.
As the FM said, this is a Budget that lays the foundation for the next 25 years, observes Kumar Mangalam Birla.
The duty reduction in feedstock would strengthen the domestic manufacturing in India making it more competitive leading to surge in exports of finished goods.
Budget has hiked customs duty on all ores and concentrates from 2 per cent to 2.5 per cent.
If Nirmala Sitharaman does indeed present a 'never-before' like Budget on February 1, going by her promise, she would create a new benchmark for post-contraction Budgets, observes A K Bhattacharya.
The Centre could better its fiscal deficit at 6.6 per cent of GDP in this financial year on stronger-than-expected revenue buoyancy, even if the budgeted disinvestment target is not met, Fitch Ratings has said. The international rating agency had last week kept the sovereign rating unchanged at 'BBB-' with a negative outlook, and said that the risks to India's medium-term growth outlook are narrowing with rapid economic recovery from the pandemic and easing financial sector pressures. In an email interview with PTI, Fitch Ratings Director (Asia-Pacific Sovereigns) Jeremy Zook said the two key positive triggers that could lead to a revision of the outlook to stable are implementation of a credible medium-term fiscal strategy to lower debt burden and higher medium-term investment and growth rates without the creation of macroeconomic imbalances, such as from successful structural reform implementation and a healthier financial sector.
The Union Budget has proposed to extend concessional basic customs duty of 5 per cent with full exemption from excise/countervailing duty to six specified life-saving drugs and vaccines, even as the stress has been laid on vaccine security.
It was one of the toughest times in history to announce a budget, says Harsh Goenka, chairman of RPG Enterprises.
In 2016, almost two-thirds of Indian imports that appear to be most at risk for some degree of potential revenues losses are imports from just one country, China, which was by far India's largest source of imports in that year
On the flipside, since 60-70 per cent of the costs pertain to raw material, which are mostly imported, currency fluctuation is a key risk for the segment.
The first consignment of 75,000 vials will reach India on Friday, it added.
This follows a widespread criticism of its pricing policy as it sold Covaxin to the central government at Rs 150 per dose.
Subdued prices of food items like vegetables pulled down retail inflation for the third month in a row to 5.3 per cent in August, within the RBI's comfort zone. While the Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based retail inflation declined to 5.3 per cent in August from 6.69 per cent in the same month a year ago, food inflation dipped at a much faster pace to 3.11 per cent from 9.05 per cent in August 2020. The food inflation was also lower than 3.96 per cent in preceding month of July.
The industry expects 0% duty on all types of fuels, low duty rate of 2% on basic building blocks like benzene, toluene, xylene, naphthalene etc.; moderate duty rate on Intermediates of 5% and high duty rate on finished products of 7.5%.
According to exporters, withdrawal of incentives under GSP would impact India's export worth $5.6 billion to the US.
Industry seeks cut in customs duty on natural rubber.
While the surcharge on super-rich would help garner additional income of around Rs 12,000 crore this fiscal on the direct tax side.
A Dubai trip plus Apple iPhone 12 is cheaper than buying the phone in India. Various models of the iPhone 12 Pro and Max are cheaper in Dubai by up to Rs 35,000 owing to higher GST, Customs duty in India.
Addressing the 'Namaste Trump' event at the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad, Trump said that both the countries are in the early stages of discussion for an 'incredible' trade agreement to reduce barriers of investments.
Lata Ramgobin, who is the daughter of noted rights activists Ela Gandhi and late Mewa Ramgobind, was also refused leave to appeal both the conviction and the sentence by the Durban Specialised Commercial Crime Court.
The budget has been neutral with positive bias for the auto component industry.
From road transport to health insurance, tax rules have changed from October 1.
How do you feel about Modi 2.0's first Budget? Does it meet your expectations? Or do you feel let down?
Sitharaman said surcharges on individuals having taxable income of Rs 2 crore to Rs 5 crore; and Rs 5 crore and more have been raised.
"The initial supply price of Covishield for all government immunization programme, including India, has been the lowest", SII said.
'Higher than expected inflation in the US or the European Union, faster than expected tightening by the major central banks, break out of a war in Europe, and withdrawal of portfolio equities from the emerging markets are factors which can result in equity market corrections.'
India's economy could also suffer some ill-effects without necessarily triggering retaliation via higher tariff barriers against Indian goods, says Devangshu Datta.
Increasing the duties on auto parts and putting an additional cess on petrol and diesel could drive up costs of vehicles, specially where volumes are low and localisation is not viable.
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