Budget 2016 announces help to local manufacturing of consumer durables

This will also reduce import of finished goods to some extent

The Union Budget 2016 brings hope to the domestic consumer durables and electronics industry. Various tax sops and duty cuts for intermediary products that have been announced will help boost local manufacturing and reduce import of finished goods to some extent. However, the finance minister Arun Jaitley did not remove the tax benefits that these products enjoy if imported from countries with whom India is in ‘Free Trade Agreement’ with.

Duties on various items such as components for microwaves, LCD fabrication units, charger, battery, wired speaker, headsets, broadband modems, set-top boxes, CCTV camera have been got rid of.  The reduction in duties such as special additional duty, countervailing duty and basic customs duty is in the range of four to 12.5 percent depending on the product category.

“We are happy with the government impetus on Make In India by providing tax and duty benefits and these will go a long way in strengthening the manufacturing capabilities of India. Another important milestone has been the use of technology to increase accountability of the government, authorities, and courts is a welcome step and will provide the right fillip to fast track procedures and will become the growth engine of the country, Manish Sharma, president Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA) and managing director Panasonic India and South Asia said.