Budget 2024: What Has Become Cheaper and What Has Become Costlier

Items That Have Become Cheaper:

- The Finance Minister announced a reduction in Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on mobile phones and chargers to 15 percent.

- Customs duty on gold and silver has been reduced to 6 percent, while duty on platinum is now 6.4 percent.

- Three cancer treatment medicines have been exempted from Basic Customs Duty.

- The Finance Minister also proposed expanding the list of exempted capital goods used in manufacturing solar panels.

- The Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) rate on e-commerce transactions has been cut from 1 percent to 0.1 percent.

- Basic Customs Duty on ferronickel and blister copper has been removed.

- Customs duty on certain broodstock, polychaete worms, shrimp, and fish feed has been reduced to 5 percent. Duties on various inputs for shrimp and fish feed production have also been exempted.

- To boost competitiveness in the leather and textile sectors, the BCD on real down filling material from ducks or geese has been reduced.

- Basic Customs Duty on ammonium nitrate has been lowered from 7.5 percent to 10 percent to support existing and new capacities in the pipeline.

- Basic Customs Duty on oxygen-free copper used for manufacturing resistors has been removed.

- Customs duties on 25 critical minerals for sectors such as nuclear energy, renewable energy, space, defense, telecommunications, and high-tech electronics have been fully exempted, with reduced BCD on two of these minerals.

Items That Have Become Costlier:

- The Finance Minister proposed an increase in customs duty on ammonium nitrate to 10 percent and a 25 percent rise in duty on non-biodegradable plastics.

- Basic Customs Duty on specified telecom equipment has been raised from 10 percent to 15 percent.

- A new Tax Collected at Source (TCS) of 1 percent will be levied on notified goods with a value exceeding ₹10 lakh.