The interim finance minister Piyush Goel presented the much-awaited budget in Lok Sabha. The major highlights of the budget are:
- Full tax rebate to Individual taxpayers with annual income up to 5 lakh rupees.
- Individuals with gross income upto 6.5 lakh rupees will not pay tax if they invest in provident funds and prescribed equities.
- Standard tax deduction for salaried persons rose from 40,000 rupees to 50,000 rupees.
- TDS threshold on rental income rose from 1.8 lakh to 2.4 lakh rupees.
- The tax exemption in budget would benefit around 3 crore, middle-class taxpayers.
- Gratuity limit increased from 10 lakh to 30 lakh rupees.
- Benefit of rollover of capital tax gains to be increased from investment in one residential house to that in two residential houses, for a taxpayer having capital gains up to 2 crore rupees; can be exercised once in a lifetime.
- All housing project that is approved till 2019-2020, will attract extended benefits of one more year under section 80(i)BA.
- FM says, “We are poised to become a 5 trillion dollar economy in the next five years, we aspire to become a 10 trillion dollar economy in the next eight years”.
- Over 90% of GST payers, whose business is less than Rs. 5 crore annual turnover, will be allowed to file quarterly returns.
- GST has been consistently reduced that provided relief to 80,000 crore rupees to consumers.
- GST was applauded as the biggest taxation reform implemented since independence. With through tax consolidation, India became one common market; inter-state movements became faster through e-way bills, improving Ease of Doing Business.
- Direct tax collections from 6.38 lakh crore rupees in 2013-14 to almost 12 lakh crore rupees; tax base up from Rs 3.79 crore to Rs 6.85 crore. 99.54% returns have been accepted without any scrutiny. In January 2019, GST collections have crossed 1 lakh crore rupees.
- Most of the daily use items of the poor and middle class have now come within the tax bracket of 0%-5%.
- Group of Ministers examining how prospective house buyers can benefit under GST. GST registered MSME units will get 2% subvention on loan of 1 crore.
- FM said, “Cost of data and voice calls in India is now possibly the lowest in the world; mobile and mobile part manufacturing companies have increased from 2 to 268”.
- Within almost two years, almost all assessment and verification of IT returns will be done electronically by an anonymized tax system without any intervention by tax officials.
- Filmmakers will soon be given single window clearance for filmmaking; anti-camcording provision to be introduced to Cinematography Act to combat film privacy.
- With a rise of 21% of budgetary allocation from the previous year, the allocation for North Eastern region proposed to be increased to Rs 58,166 crore in this year.
- Increased allocation for Rashtriya Gokul Mission to 750 crores in current year.
- FM said, “Urgent action needed to increase hydrocarbon production to decrease imports; change in bidding procedure and exploration procedure being implemented.
- Animal Husbandry and Fisheries farmers would be extended 2% interest subvention.
- Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Mandhan to provide assured monthly pension of 3000 rupees per month, with contribution of 100 rupees per month, for workers in unorganised sector after 60 years of age. FM says, “(This) will benefit 10 crore workers in unorganized sector may become the world's biggest pension scheme for unorganized sector in five years”.
- Committee under NITI Aayog to be set up to identify and denotify nomadic and semi-nomadic communities; Welfare Development Board to be set up under Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment for the welfare of these hard-to-reach communities and for tailored strategic interventions.
- Farmers with less than 2 hectares landholding will get 6000 rupees per year in three installments under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi. This amount will be transferred directly to the farmers' bank accounts. This initiative is likely to benefit 12 crore small and marginal farmers, at an estimated cost of Rs 75,000 crore.
- To ensure clean Banking, 4R approach (i.e. 1. Recognition 2. Resolution 3. Recapitalisation 4. Reforms) will be implemented.
- FM said, “We controlled double-digit inflation. Inflation is a hidden and unfair tax; from 10.1% during 2009-14, inflation in December 2018 was just 2.1%. We have broken the back of back-breaking inflation”.
- Fiscal deficit has been bought down to 3.4%; CAD (current account deficit) likely to be 2.5% of GDP this year.
