Budget 2015: Tablets, shoes to get cheaper but drinks, night outs to get expensive

The national budget presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Saturday has the potential to increase what you pay for some commodities while also reducing it for certain categories. Like in the past the levy on tobacco products has been hiked, making it more expensive for smokers and other tobacco product users. Excise duty on cigarettes has been increased by 25 percent for cigarettes of length not exceeding 65 mm and by 15 percent for cigarettes of other lengths. This is the fourth consecutive budget which has raised excise duty on tabacco by more than 18 percent hike in duty. Similar increases are proposed on cigars, cheroots and cigarillos. Last year, the finance minister had hiked duty by 22 percent. Even custom duty on tobacco haso been increased to Rs 70 per kg from the Rs 60. [caption id=“attachment_339415” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] The finance minister also proposed to hike service tax from 12.36 percent to 14 percent. Making air travel, eating out and mobile bills more expensive. Going out for concerts and sports events will call for shelling out extra bucks due to the service tax hike. Even aerated sugary drinks like colas and packaged water are likely to piche the pocket a bit more harder. The duty on aerated water has been proposed to increase from 17.5 percent to 18 percent. In the last budget 5 percent was increased in the excise duty on aerated sugary drinks. Jaitley has proposed to make leather footwear, India made mobile phones, tablets, microwave, peanut butter, packaged fruits and agarbattis cheaper. Service tax exemption has also been proposed for ambulance services, entry to zoo and cold storage facilities. Imported medical devices like medical video endoscopes and pacemakers are set to become cheaper, as the budget has proposed reduction of custom and counter vailing duty (CVD). Similarly imported LCD/LED television panels may also get cheaper due to reduction in customs duty. The items which are set to become costlier are: * Service tax rate increased to 14 percent and new services added to the taxable list like services provided by a mutual fund agent to a mutual fund or assets management company, distributor to a mutual fund or asset management company and selling or marketing agent of lottery ticket to a distributor. * Aerated water, iced tea, lemonade and other beverages, waters, including mineral water and aerated water, containing added sugar or other sweetening matter or flavour. * Condensed milk in containers * Peanut butter * Sacks and bags (including cones) of plastics * Cut tobacco, cigarettes * Cement * Imported completely built units (CBUs) of commercial vehicles Items which are set to become cheaper are: * Bituminous coal, ulexite ore, liquefied butane, ethylene dichloride, vinyl chloride monomer and styrene monomer, butyl acrylate, anthraquinone * Wind power generators, solar water heater system * Wafers for manufacture of integrated circuit (IC) modules for smart cards LED drivers and MCPCB for LED lights, fixtures and lamps. * Agarbattis * Pacemakers * Tablet computers * Ambulances * Leather footwear priced over Rs.1,000 per pair * Imported LCD/LED television panels IANS