With an aim to boost the economy of the country which is currently reeling under pressure, FM Sitharaman proposed a hiked tax on petrol and diesel, raised import duty on gold, levied an additional surcharge on super rich and brought a tax on high-value cash withdrawals.
However, the government did lower down prices of certain items such as electric vehicle components, camera module and charger of mobile phones and set-top boxes.
In the Union Budget 2019, the following items became costlier:
1. Cashew kernels
2. Fatty acids. Acid oils from refining used in manufacture of oleochemicals and soaps
3. Poly Vinyl Chloride
4. Floor cover of plastics, Wall or ceiling coverings of plastics
5. Articles of plastic
6. Butyl Rubber
7. Chlorobutyl rubber or bromobutyl rubber
8. Paper for newsprint and magazines
9. Printed books (including covers for printed books) and printed manuals
10. Water blocking tapes for manufacture of optical fiber cables
11. Ceramic roofing tiles and ceramic flags and pavings, hearth or wall tiles etc.
12. Stainless steel products
13. Wire of other alloy steel (other than INVAR)
14. Base metal fittings, mountings and similar articles suitable for furniture, doors, staircases, windows, blinds, hinge for auto mobiles
15. Indoor and outdoor unit of split –system air conditioner
16. Stone crushing (cone type) plants for the construction of roads
17. Charger/ power adapter of CCTV camera/ IP camera and DVR / NVR
18. Loudspeaker
19. Digital Video Recorder (DVR) and Network Video Recorder (NVR)
20. CCTV camera and IP camera
21. Optical Fibres, optical fibre bundles and cables
22. Friction material and articles thereof (for example, sheets, rolls, strips, segments, discs, washers, pads), not mounted, for brakes, for clutches or the like, with a basis of asbestos, of other mineral substances or of cellulose, whether or not combined with textile or other materials.
23. Glass mirrors, whether or not framed, including rear-view mirrors
24. Locks of a kind used in motor vehicles
25. Catalytic Converter
26. Oil or petrol filters for internal combustion engines
27. Intake air filters for internal combustion engines
28. Lighting or visual signaling equipment of a kind used in bicycles or motor vehicles
29. Horns for vehicle
30. Other visual or sound signalling equipment for bicycle and motor vehicle
31. Parts of visual or sound signaling equipment, windscreen wipers, defrosters and demisters of a kind used in cycles or motor vehicles
32. Windscreen wipers, defrosters and demisters, Sealed beam lamp units, Other lamps for automobiles.
33. Completely Built Unit (CBU)of vehiclesfalling under heading 8702, 8704
34. Chassis fitted with engines, for the motor vehicles of headings 8701 to 8705
35. Bodies (including cabs), for the motor vehicles of headings 8701 to 8705
What got cheaper:
1. Naphtha
2. Methyloxirane (Propylene Oxide)
3. Ethylene dichloride (EDC)
4. Raw materials used in manufacture of Preform of Silica: -
a) Silicon Tetra Chloride
b) Germanium Tetra Chloride
c) Refrigerated Helium Liquid
d) Silica Rods
e) Silica Tubes
5. Wool fibre, Wool Tops
6. Inputs for the manufacture of CRGO steel: -
a) MgO coated cold rolled steel coils
b) Hot rolled coils
c) Cold-rolled MgO coated and annealed steel
d) Hot rolled annealed and pickled coils
e) Cold rolled full hard
7. Amorphous alloy ribbon
8. Cobalt mattes and other intermediate products of cobalt metallurgy
9. Capital goods used for manufacturing of following electronic items, namely)
a) Populated PCBA
b) Camera module of cellular mobile phones
c) Charger/Adapter of cellular mobile phone
d) Lithium Ion Cell
e) Display Module
f) Set Top Box
g) Compact Camera Module
Though the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hailed the Union Budget as one for a "new India" which laid the foundation for an inclusive and progressive nation, while the Congress panned it as "old wine in new bottle". In this year's Budget, Sitharaman hiked tax on petrol and diesel, raised import duty on gold, levied additional surcharge on super rich and brought a tax on high value cash withdrawals as she sought to spur growth with reduction in corporate tax and sops to housing sector, startups and electric vehicles.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the finance minister presented a budget for a "new India" which laid the foundation for an inclusive and progressive nation, the rise of which was powered by the hard work of 130 crore countrymen. Criticising the Budget, Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said it was just a repetition of "old promises". "They (the BJP) are talking about a new India, but it is simply old wine in a new bottle," he told reporters outside Parliament. He claimed that no new initiatives were announced by the government.