Budget 2017
Softening the demonetisation drive, the Budget for 2017-18 on Wednesday halved the tax to 5 per cent on incomes up to Rs 500,000 but proposed a fresh surcharge of 10 per cent on incomes between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore and increased duties on cigarettes and pan masala while stepping up allocations for infrastructure, rural, agriculture and social sectors.
Following are few of the highlights of Union Budget 2017-18,
- Tax rates reduced by 50% to 5% for income of Rs 2.5-5 lakh, tax slabs unchanged
- 10% surcharge on people earning income between Rs 50 lakh-1 cr
- 15% surcharge on yearly income above Rs 1 cr to continue
- Cash transactions over Rs 3 lakh to banned
- Corporate tax for SMEs with a turnover up to Rs 50 cr cut to 25%; 96% companies to benefit from it.
- Customs duty of LNG reduced by 50% to 2.5%
- Fiscal deficit pegged at 3.2% subsequent year, 3% in FY’19
- Political parties banned from accepting cash donation beyond Rs 2,000 per individual
- They can receive donations only via cheques, electronic mode; electoral bonds to be issued by RBI
- Aadhaar-based health cards for senior citizens; a scheme for senior citizens to ensure 8 pc guaranteed returns
- FIPB to be removed; further FDI policy liberalisation
- Government to have time-bound process for CPSE listing
- Railway PSUs — IRCTC, IRFC, IRCON listed
- Payment Regulatory Board to set up within RBI to regulate the digital payments
- Negotiable instruments Act to amended in order to deal with cheque bounce cases
- Legislative change to confiscate of assets of economic offenders who flee the country
- Demonetisation bold, decisive measure; to aid GDP growth, taxes mop up to increase
- Effect of demonetisation not to drop over to next year
- GST, demonetisation ‘tectonic changes’ for the economy
- Service charges on e-tickets booked through IRCTC waived
- Capital expenditure of the Railway fixed at Rs 1.31 lakh cr
- Rail safety fund of Rs 1 lakh cr over 5 years, unmanned level crossing to be removed by 2020
- Budget based on 3 agendas — Transform, Energise & Clean India.
- 3-year period for long-term capital gains tax on immovable property condensed to 2 years; base year indexation shifted from April 1, 1981 to April 1, 2001
- Divestment goal at Rs 72,500 cr, up from 56,500 cr
- Gross market borrowing peg at Rs 6.05 lakh cr
- Duty exempt on POS machines and Iris readers for encouraging digital payments
- Tax benefits to Start ups to be for 3 out of 7 yrs
- FPI to be excused from indirect transfer provision
- Integrated public sector oil major to be produced to match global giants
- Direct Tax collection increase 15.8%, indirect tax 8.3%
- Total expenditure peg at Rs 21.47 lakh crore
- Capital expenditure up 24%; to have multiplier result
- Allocation to states hiked Rs 4.11 cr
- FRBM Committee suggest that Debt-GDP ratio of 60% by 2020
- Retail inflation to stay within 2-6 pc
- 2 new AIIMS to come up in Jharkhand and Gujarat
- maximum ever allocation of Rs 48,000 cr to MNREGA
- Farm sector to raise at 4.1% this fiscal, to double farm income in five years
- Farm credit target for subsequent fiscal at Rs 10 lakh crore
- Fasal Bima yojana amplified to 40% of crop area; raised to Rs 1.41 lakh crore in Kharif 2017 season
- Infrastructure investment to peg at Rs 3.96 lakh cr
- To twice irrigation fund corpus to Rs 40,000 cr
- Infrastructure status to be accorded affordable housing
- Dairy processing fund with Rs 2000cr corpus to be established
- Rs 1.84 lakh cr allocated for women and child initiatives
- Rs 1.87 lakh cr allocated to the rural, agriculture, allied sectors, 1 crore houses by 2019 for the homeless
- PM Awas Yojana allocation up from Rs 15,000 cr till Rs 23,000 cr
- 100% village electrification to achieve by May 2018
- Rs 31,920 cr allocated for the Scheduled Tribes, Rs 4,195 cr minority affairs, the outcome based budgeting to start
- Road sector allocation hiked up to Rs 64,000 cr
- Innovation Fund to be generated for Secondary Education
- Allocate Rs 2.41 lakh crore rail, road, shipping to create jobs, spur economic activity
- Announcement of New metro rail policy
- New crude oil reserves proposed in the state of Odisha and Rajasthan; to take strategic reserve capacity to 15.33 mmt
- India on cusp of digital revolution
- FDI increased 35 pc to Rs 1.45 lakh crore in H1 Financial Year 2017.
- 2 new schemes — Referral Bonus for individuals, cashback for merchants — under BHIM app as early as possible
- Aadhaar enabled payment system for merchants in a short time
- Bill on curtailing menace of illicit deposit schemes in the offing
- Fiscal deficit for this fiscal at 3.2%, down from budget estimation of 3.5%
- FRBM Committee suggests 3% fiscal deficit for 3 years
- Rs 10,000 cr to be given to banks for recapitalisation
- Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES) to be launched subsequent fiscal
- Simple 1 page form to filled by individuals having taxable income of Rs 5 lakh
- Excise duty on cigars, cheroots increased to 12.5% or Rs 4006 per thousand
- Excise duty on pan masala raised to 9% from 6%; on raw tobacco raised to 8.3% from 4%
- Parts utilised for manufacture of LED lights to attract basic customs duty of 5% and CVD of 6%
- Solar tempered glass utilised for manufacture of solar cells/panels exempted from customs duty
- Customs duty on printed circuit board for the purpose of manufacture of mobile phones hiked to 2% from nil
- Threshold for audit of businesses opting for the presumptive income doubled to Rs 2 cr
- Under the presumptive taxation for professionals up to Rs 50 lakhs advance tax can be paid in one instalment
- Scope of the domestic transfer pricing limited to entities availing profit linked deduction
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