Key Highlights: Interim Union Budget 2024-25

With the aim of 'Together for Everyone's Development and Trust' and a national approach of 'Everyone's Effort,' the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman, presented the Interim Union Budget 2024-25 in Parliament today. Below are major highlights of the Budget 2024-25:

Part - A

Points about direct taxes from the FM's proposal:

- The tax rates for direct taxes will remain the same.

- Over the last decade, direct tax collection has tripled, and the number of return filers has increased by 2.4 times.

- The government aims to enhance taxpayer services.

- Outstanding direct tax demands up to Rs 25,000 from before the financial year 2009-10 will be waived.

- Outstanding direct tax demands up to Rs 10,000 for 2010-11 to 2014-15 will also be waived, benefiting one crore taxpayers.

- Start-ups will continue to receive tax benefits, and investments by sovereign wealth funds or pension funds will be extended until March 31, 2025.

- Tax exemption for certain income of IFSC units will be extended until March 31, 2025, from March 31, 2024.

Information about indirect taxes:

- The Finance Minister plans to keep the same tax rates for indirect taxes and import duties.

- The Goods and Services Tax (GST) streamlined India's complex indirect tax system.

- This year, the average monthly gross GST collection has doubled to Rs 1.66 lakh crore.

- The GST tax base has also doubled.

- After the introduction of GST, the revenue buoyancy for State GST (SGST) increased significantly.

- A majority of industry leaders see the transition to GST as positive.

- GST has optimized supply chains and reduced the compliance burden on businesses.

- Lower logistics costs and taxes have led to lower prices for goods and services, benefiting consumers.

Here's a simplified version of the information about tax rationalization efforts and achievements in taxpayer services:

Tax Rationalization Efforts:

- Income up to Rs 7 lakh now has no tax liability, up from Rs 2.2 lakh in FY 2013-14.

- The presumptive taxation threshold for retail businesses has been raised to Rs 3 crore from Rs 2 crore.

- For professionals, the presumptive taxation threshold has increased to Rs 75 lakh from Rs 50 lakh.

- Corporate income tax has been reduced to 22% from 30% for existing domestic companies.

- New manufacturing companies now enjoy a corporate income tax rate of 15%.

Achievements in Taxpayer Services:

- The average processing time for tax returns has decreased to 10 days from 93 days in 2013-14.

- Faceless Assessment and Appeal have been introduced for greater efficiency.

- Updated income tax returns, new Form 26AS, and prefilled tax returns have simplified return filing.

- Customs reforms have reduced import release time, with reductions of 47% to 71 hours at Inland Container Depots, 28% to 44 hours at Air Cargo complexes, and 27% to 85 hours at Sea Ports.

Part - B

Infrastructure:

- The budget for infrastructure development and job creation will be increased by 11.1% to Rs. 11,11,111 crore, which amounts to 3.4% of the GDP.

Railways:

- Three major economic railway corridor programs will be implemented under the PM Gati Shakti to enhance logistics efficiency and reduce costs.

    - Energy, mineral, and cement corridors

    - Port connectivity corridors

    - High traffic density corridors

- 40,000 regular rail carriages will be upgraded to Vande Bharat standards.

Aviation Sector:

- The number of airports have been raised to 149 in the country.

- 517 new routes are now operational, serving 1.3 crore passengers.

- Indian carriers have ordered over 1,000 new aircraft.

Green Energy:

- By 2030, capacity for coal gasification and liquefaction will be established at 100 million tonnes.

- There will be phased mandatory blending of compressed biogas (CBG) with compressed natural gas (CNG) for transport and piped natural gas (PNG) for domestic use.

Tourism Sector:

- States will be encouraged to comprehensively develop iconic tourist centers, including global branding and marketing.

- A framework for rating tourist centers based on facility quality will be established.

- Long-term interest-free loans will be provided to states to finance such development.

Investments:

- FDI inflow from 2014-23 reached USD 596 billion, double the inflow from 2005-14.

State Reforms for 'Developed India':

- A provision of Rs. 75,000 crore as a fifty-year interest-free loan is proposed to support milestone-linked reforms by state governments.

Social Justice:

- The Prime Minister aims to uplift four major groups: the poor, women, youth, and farmers.

Garib Kalyan, Desh ka Kalyan

    - Government assistance has lifted 25 crore people out of multi-dimensional poverty in the last decade.

    - Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) of Rs. 34 lakh crore through PM-Jan Dhan accounts has saved the government Rs. 2.7 lakh crore.

    - PM-SVANidhi has provided credit assistance to 78 lakh street vendors, with 2.3 lakh receiving credit for the third time.

    - PM-JANMAN Yojana supports the development of particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTG).

    - PM-Vishwakarma Yojana offers end-to-end support to artisans and craftspeople in 18 trades.

Welfare of Farmers:

- Financial assistance will be provided around 11.8 crore under PM-KISAN SAMMAN Yojana.

- PM Fasal BimaYojana offers crop insurance to 4 crore farmers.

- Electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) has integrated 1361 mandis, serving 1.8 crore farmers with a trading volume of Rs. 3 lakh crore.

Empowerment of Women:

- 30 crore Mudra Yojana loans have been given to women entrepreneurs.

- Female enrollment in higher education has increased by 28%.

- In STEM courses, girls and women make up 43% of enrollment, one of the highest rates globally.

- Over 70% of houses under PM Awas Yojana have been given to women in rural areas.

PM Awas Yojana (Rural):

- Despite COVID challenges, the target of three crore houses will be achieved soon.

- Two crore more houses will be taken up in the next five years.

Rooftop Solarization and Free Electricity:

- 1 crore households will receive 300 units of free electricity every month through rooftop solarization, saving each household Rs. 15000 to Rs. 18000 annually.

Ayushman Bharat:

- Healthcare cover under Ayushman Bharat will be extended to all ASHA workers, Anganwadi Workers, and Helpers.

Agriculture and Food Processing:

- Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana has benefited 38 lakh farmers and generated 10 lakh employment.

- Pradhan Mantri Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Yojana has assisted 2.4 lakh SHGs and 60,000 individuals with credit linkages.

Research and Innovation:

- A corpus of Rs.1 lakh crore will be established with a fifty-year interest-free loan to provide long-term financing or refinancing with long tenors and low or nil interest rates.

- A new scheme will be launched to strengthen deep-tech technologies for defense purposes and expedite self-reliance.

Also Read: Significant Updates For Taxpayers in Budget 2024

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