With aim to promote domestic manufacturing, Union Finance Minister Niramala Sitharaman, in Budget 2023-24, provided relief in customs duty on import of certain parts and inputs like camera lens and lithium-ion cells for batteries for mobile phones for another year.
She also proposed to reduce the basic custom duty on parts of open cells of TV panels to 2.5 per cent to promote value addition in the manufacture of televisions.
However, the budget, tabled in Parliament on Wednesday, doubled the basic custom duty on kitchen chimneys to 15 per cent, on bicycles from 30 per cent to 35 per cent, and toys and parts of toys (except electronic toy parts) from 60 per cent to 70 per cent, increasing the prices of the imported products.
Sitharaman during her budget speech on Wednesday proposed to reduce the number of Basic Customs Duty (BCD) rates on goods other than textiles and agriculture from 21 per cent to 13 per cent.
This has necessitated minor changes in the basic Customs duties, cesses and surcharges on some items, including toys, bicycles, automobiles, and naphtha.
The Finance Minister also emphasised on a simplified tax structure with fewer tax slabs to help reduce the compliance burden and improve tax administration.
In order to avoid cascading of taxes on blended compressed natural gas, the Finance Minister proposed to exempt excise duty on GST-paid compressed bio-gas contained in it.
To further provide impetus to green mobility, Sitharaman announced extending Customs duty exemption to import of capital goods and machinery required for manufacture of lithium-ion cells for batteries used in electric vehicles.
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