The government on Monday announced a Krishi Kalyan Cess of 0.5 per cent on all taxable services effective from June 1 this year to fund farm initiatives.
It also proposed cut in excise duty on irrigation pumps and soil nutrients besides slashing import duty on cold storage related equipments.
Watch Budget 2016: Editors First Take on Arun Jaitley’s Announcements
“I propose to impose a Cess, called the Krishi Kalyan Cess, at 0.5 per cent on all taxable services, proceeds of
which would be exclusively used for financing initiatives relating to improvement of agriculture and welfare of farmers,” Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said while presenting the Budget for 2016-17.