Budget 2016: Eating out, air travel, mineral water – here is all the stuff that will become costlier

New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley unveiled a pro-poor budget on Monday, focusing mainly on the rural sector. Service tax has been increased from 14.5 to 15%, making eating out and other paid services even more expensive. [caption id=“attachment_2648640” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Cars, branded garments, air travel will become more expensive, while footwear, solar lamps and routers are slated to be cheaper following a host of changes in the tax structure in the Budget for 2016-17. As a result of additional levy of Krishi Kalyan and infrastructure cess on all services, activities including eating out and payment of bills will also become more expensive. Continuing the trend set by his many predecessors, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today imposed up to 15 per cent excise duty on all tobacco products. THINGS THAT WILL BE COSTLIER: • Cars • Cigarettes, cigar, tobacco, paper rolled beedis and guthka • All services like bill payments, eating out, air travel • Readymade garments and branded apparel of more than Rs 1,000 • Gold and Silver; jewellery articles excluding silver • Water including mineral water, aerated water containing added sugar or sweetening matter • Goods and services above Rs 2 lakh in cash • Aluminum foil • Air Travel • Plastic bags and sacks • Ropeway, cable car rides • Imported imitation jewellery • Industrial solar water heater • Legal services • Lottery tickets • Traveling by hiring stage carriage • Hiring of packers & movers • E-reading devices • Instruments for VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) • Imported Golf Cars • Gold bars THINGS THAT WILL TURN CHEAPER • Footwear • Solar lamp • Router, broadband modems and set-top boxes, Digital video recorder and CCTV cameras • Hybrid electric vehicles • Sterilised dialyser • Low cost houses with less than 60 sq mt carpet area • Hiring of folk artists for performance • Refrigerated containers