Budget 2022 highlights: Crypto, NFT under tax net; no change in income tax

Budget 2022 highlights: Key changes announced by Nirmala Sitharaman during the Budget 2022 speech

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget in Parliament and said the country's economic growth is expected at 9.2 per cent in the current financial year, on the back of a sharp rebound in the economy. Here are the key highlights of Budget 2022-23
 

Budget 2022 highlights: CAPEX, fiscal deficit

* Proposes fiscal deficit of 4.5% of GDP by 2025/26

* Projects fiscal deficit of 6.4% of GDP in 2022/23

* Revised fiscal deficit for 2021/22 at 6.9% of GDP

* Total expenditure in 2022/23 seen at 39.45 trillion rupees

* States will be allowed 4% fiscal deficit to GDP in FY23

* 50 year interest free loans over and above normal borrowing allocated to states

* Scheme for financial assistance to states for capital investment outlay to be 1 trillion rupees in 2022-23

Budget 2022 highlights: Taxation

* Import duty on certain chemicals reduced

* Customs duty exemption on steel scrap to be extended for another year for small- and medium-sized businesses

* Customs duty on stainless steel, flat products, high steel bars to be revoked

* Unblended fuel to get additional duty of Rs 2 per litre from October 2022

Budget 2022 highlights: Finance

* Emergency credit line guarantee scheme (ECLGS) for small and medium sized businesses to be extended to March 2023

* Energy transition and climate action will be a major government priority

* Public issue of Life Insurance Corporation expected shortly

* Initiatives from last year's budget have been provided adequate allocations in this budget

* Special Economic Zones Act to be replaced with new legislation

* To amend bankruptcy code to speed up resolution process

* Aims to lower winding up of companies to 6 months from 2 years currently

* Long term capital gain (LTCG) surcharge to be capped at 15%

Budget 2022: Digital currency

* To launch digital rupee using blockchain technology starting 2022/23

* To launch scheme for taxation of virtual digital assets (Crypto, NFT)

* Losses from sale of virtual digital assets (Crypto, NFT) cannot be offset against other income

* Income from virtual digital assets (Crypto, NFT) to be taxed at 30%

Budget 2022: Defence

* Govt committed to reducing defence imports

Budget 2022: Infrastructure

* 5G spectrum auctions to be conducted in 2022

* Scheme for design-led manufacturing for 5G will be part of production-linked scheme

* To award contracts to lay optical fibre in rural areas, completion in 2025

* Rs 480 billion set aside for affordable housing in 2022/23

* To allocate additional Rs 195 billion for production-linked incentives towards solar equipment manufacturing

Budget 2022: Agriculture

* Domestic scheme introduced to reduce dependence on oilseed imports

* Fund with blended capital raised under co-investment model to finance agriculture startups

* Railways to develop infrastructure for small farmers in 2022/23

Budget 2022: Transport

* 400 energy efficient trains to be manufactured over next three years

* National highways network to be expanded by 25,000km in 2022/23

* Highways expansion to cost 200 billion rupees in 2022-23