• The standard rate of Central excise duty has been increased from 10% to 12%.
• The concessional excise duty rate 2% without CENVAT Credit is being extended to parts, components and specified accessories viz. battery chargers, PC Connectivity Cables, Memory cards and hands-free headphones of mobile phones.
• Central Excise duty is being been reduced to 6% on LED Lamps. LEDs required for manufacturing of such lamps will also attract excise duty at 6%.
• Full exemption from basic customs duty, additional duty of customs presently available on parts, components and accessories of mobile handsets including cellular phones is being extended to parts, components and sub-parts of parts and components required for manufacture of Memory Cards for mobile phones.
• Full exemption from Special Additional Duty of customs on parts, components and accessories of mobile handsets including cell phones valid up to 31.3.13 is being been extended to parts, sub-parts and components of Memory Cards for mobile handsets including cellular phones.
• Excise duty is being reduced to 6% on LED lamps & LEDs required for manufacture of such lamps and SAD is being fully exempted on LEDs used for manufacture of LED Lamps
• Full exemption from Basic Customs Duty is being extended to LCD and LED TV panels for 20 inches and above.
• Basic customs duty of 10% is being imposed on Digital Cameras which are capable of recording video with minimum resolution of 800 x 600 pixels, at minimum 23 frames per second, for at least 30 minutes in a single sequence using the maximum storage (including expanded) capacity.
• Exemption limit for general category of individual taxpayers was proposed to be enhanced from Rs 1.8 lakh to Rs 2 lakh. Further, 20% slab will be levied from Rs 10 lakh instead of Rs 8 lakh before.

Budget Impact:

Exemption of Customs duty on LCD and LED TV panels for 20 inches and above from previous 5% would help the domestic companies like Videocon and MIRC Electronics as it would lower the prices and drive the demand. Increase in the minimum tax slab is positive for the sector as it drives disposable income and increase consumer spending.

Scrips to watch:

Videocon Industries and MIRC Electronics

Exemption of SAD on parts, components and sub parts for manufacture of memory cards is help full for the industry. Slashing excise duty on LCD and LED panels will give level playing field for the domestic industry manufacturers to compete with imports. Increase in the customs duty on cameras of certain specifications will make the cameras dearer for the consumers. However, overall increase in the excise duty from 10% to12% is a setback for the industry.