India's Govt cuts taxes to bring down prices

    The government today effected an across-the-board four per cent cut in CENVAT (Central Value Added Tax) that will bring down prices of cars, cement, textiles??other goods as part of an economic stimulus package that also earmarks an additional Rs 20,000 crore f infrastructure, industry??export sectors.

In a virtual mini-budget that entails a revenue loss of Rs 8,700 crore in the next four months, the package seeks to revive the crucial housing, export, automobile, textiles??small??medium enterprises sect to counter the economic slow down caused by the global financial crisis??the recession in the West.



The three slabs of excise duty -- 14 per cent, 12 per cent??8 per cent -- applicable to non-petroleum products have been reduced by 4 per cent each, an official release said today. The revised rates will be 10 per cent, 8 per cent??4 per cent, respectively.



The package also contained full exemption??basic customs duty on industrial intermediate naphtha to give relief to power sect??withdrawal of export duty on iron ore fines while cutting down the levy on export of iron lumps??15 per cent to five per cent.



The much-awaited package, set rolling by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who is also the Finance Minister, targets power, exports, housing, auto, small??medium industries??infrastructure sectors through additional funding??guarantees that total an amount of over Rs 30,000 crore.



apparelworld.