Capital goods import sops may go

NEW DELHI, JAN 15: Concessions such as zero-duty imports of select capital goods may be withdrawn in the forthcoming budget. The governme...

NEW DELHI, JAN 15: Concessions such as zero-duty imports of select capital goods may be withdrawn in the forthcoming budget. The government will also try to whittle down the number of excise duty slabs to just three — basic, merit and de-merit — in a bid to further simplify the existing tax structure. This was indicated by Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha in a pre-budget meeting with representatives of the media today. This is the first time that any Finance Minister has held pre-budget consultations with the media.

“I think we should get used to the idea of some basic floor duty for all imports,” Sinha said, while adding, “I have also been guilty of some distortions since I allowed duty free imports of capital goods for mega-power projects.” Duty-free imports of capital goods are currently allowed for various sectors.

Sinha also said that his forthcoming budget will categorically say that the government is in favour of economic reforms, and will not be apologetic about them as several previousgovernments have been. “We are for reforms and there is no reason to be apologetic about it. There’s no question of bringing in reforms by stealth,” he said.

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Sinha said that he would try and end the practice of multiple exemptions in the excise and import structure since, once you begin, there is no end to it. Of course, he admitted, this was easier said than done since any change in excise was always followed by delegations lead by MPs suggesting all manner of changes.

Sinha assured the editors that the budget would take the reforms forward, ensuring that benefits also flow to the social sectors like education and health. Sinha said the budget would also take a serious look at the agriculture sector and try to lay out a “roadmap” for the future which would help boost the rural economy.

The Finance minister shared the concerns of the editors over the drastic decline in exports and said the Finance ministry would hold consultations with the commerce ministry and ask it to identify if there were anyspecific problems. The commerce ministry would be asked to identify the problems product wise and market wise so that corrective steps could be taken jointly, he said.

The finance minister indicated that there would be many things to which the common man can relate to in the Budget this year. "It is not my intention to sweep anything (their concerns) under the carpet," he asserted.

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Since this was the last of his `listening sessions’, Sinha’s speech was full of wisecracks. "If you dropped a nuclear bomb on the states, you’d probably cause less destruction than that caused by the last Pay Commission. Following the Pay Commission’s recommendations, state governments have to make huge payments for their bureaucracy.

Budget on Feb 27 at 11 AM

NEW DELHI: Finance minister Yashwant Sinha has decided that he’s going to make a definitive break from the colonial practice of presenting the Union Budget at 5 pm.

Sinha’s forthcoming budget will be presented, according to finance ministry officials, at 11am, giving sufficient time for the media to understand its full ramifications. February 28 being a Sunday, the Budget will be presented on February 27. So far, all finance ministers have gone along with the practice begun by the British in pre-independence India.