Budget 2024: What Gets Cheaper And What Gets Costlier

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2024–25 at the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. She has proposed to reduce customs duty on cancer medicines and mobile phones, which will reduce the prices in the retail markets.

Here is a list of what will get cheaper and what will get expensive:

• Three cancer treatment medicines will now be exempt from basic customs duty.

• Duty on mobiles, accessories and charges has been cut to 15%.

• The TDS levied on e-commerce operations from 1% to 0.1%. This could potentially bring about a reduction in online shopping expenses for end customers.

• Import duty on gold and silver has been reduced to 6%, while the duty on platinum has been cut to 6.4%.

• Export duty on leather goods like raw hides, skin and leather is to be simplified.

• Customs duty of manufacturing footwear will also be cut.

• Customs duties on parts related to solar energy will not be extended, said the finance minister.

• Custom duty on seafood like brood stock, shrimp and fish feed has been reduced to 5%.

• 25 critical minerals will get an exemption.

• Ferro nickel and blister copper will not have custom duty.

• Oxygen-free copper will have no custom duty for manufacture or resistors.

• Lithium and cobalt, which are vital for various high-tech industries will also be exempted from custom duty.

• The custom duty for spandex yarn has been reduced from 7.5% to 5%.

• The custom duty on real down-filling material from duck or goose has also been cut.

• X-ray machines that are used for medical, surgical, dental or veterinary will be getting cheaper.

• The duty on ammonium nitrate has increased to 10%.

• PVC flex banners will get more costly as the customs duty increases to 25%.

• The finance minister has increased the basic custom duty on specified telecom equipment to 15% from the earlier 10%.

• Custom duty on non-biodegradable plastic products has been raised to 25%.