Budget highlights 2011-12

PART B TAX PROPOSALS

Direct Taxes

Exemption limit for the general category of individual taxpayers enhanced from Rs.1,60,000 to Rs.1,80,000 giving uniform tax relief of Rs. 2,000.

Exemption limit enhanced and qualifying age reduced for senior citizens. [Age limit brought down from 65 years to 60 years] [Exempt up to Rs.2,50,000]

Higher exemption limit for Very Senior Citizens, who are 80 years or above. [No tax up to Rs.5 lakhs]

Current surcharge of 7.5 per cent on domestic companies proposed to be reduced to 5 per cent.

Rate of Minimum Alternative Tax proposed to be increased from 18 per cent to 18.5 per cent of book profits.

Tax incentives extended to attract foreign funds for financing of infrastructure.

Additional deduction of Rs 20,000 for investment in long-term infrastructure bonds proposed to be extended for one more year.

Lower rate of 15 per cent tax on dividends received by an Indian company from its foreign subsidiary.

Benefit of investment linked deduction extended to businesses engaged in the production of fertilisers.

Investment linked deduction to businesses developing affordable housing.

Weighted deduction on payments made to National Laboratories, Universities and Institutes of Technology to be enhanced to 200 per cent. System of collection of information from foreign tax jurisdictions to be strengthened.

Indirect Taxes

To stay on course for transition to GST.

Central Excise Duty to be maintained at standard rate of 10 per cent

Reduction in number of exemptions in Central Excise rate structure.

Nominal Central Excise Duty of 1 per cent imposed on 130 items entering in the tax net.

Lower rate of Central Excise Duty enhanced from 4 per cent to 5 per cent.

Optional levy on branded garments or made up proposed to be converted into a mandatory levy at unified rate of 10 per cent.

Peak rate of Custom Duty held at its current level.

Concessional basic Custom Duty of 5 per cent and CVD of 5 per cent available to newspaper establishments for high speed printing presses extended to mailroom equipment.

Service Tax

Standard rate of Service Tax retained at 10 per cent, while seeking a closer fit between present regime and its GST successor.

Hotel accommodation in excess of Rs1,000 per day and service provided by air conditioned restaurants that have license to serve liquor added as new services for levying Service Tax.

Tax on all services provided by hospitals with 25 or more beds with facility of central air conditioning.

Service Tax on air travel both domestic and international raised.

Services provided by life insurance companies in the area of investment and some more legal services proposed to be brought into tax net.

All individual and sole proprietor tax payers with a turn over upto Rs.60 lakh freed from the formalities of audit.

To encourage voluntary compliance the penal provision for Service Tax are being rationalised. Similar changes being carried out in Central Excise and Custom laws.

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