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| Special mention of J&K in Union Budget | | Govt. extends tax holiday benefit till March 2012 | | BL KAK
NEW DELHI, FEB 28
Enjoying a special position under Article 370 of the Constitution of India, the State of Jammu and Kashmir significantly received a special treatment in the Union Budget for 2007-08, which was presented to Parliament on Wednesday by the Finance Minister, P Chidambaram.
The Finance Minister informed the public in general and parliamentarians in particular that undertakings in Jammu and Kashmir presently enjoy a tax holiday that is due to end on March 31, 2007. Considering the importance of promoting further investment in J&K, Chidambaram said in his 100-minute speech on the floor of the Lok Sabha that he proposed to extend the benefit for another five years up to March 31, 2012.
In his pointed reference to a highly important sports event in the national capital, Chidambaram said that the government will require 20,000 more hotel rooms for the Commonwealth Games. Hence, he proposed a five year holiday from income tax for two, three or four star hotels as well as for convention centres with a seating capacity of not less than 3,000. They should be completed and begin operations in the National Capital Territory of Delhi or in the adjacent districts of Faridabad, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad or Gautam Budh Nagar during the period April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2010.
The Finance Minister strongly defended "say no to tobacco" drive. Hence, he proposed to increase the specific rates of excise duty on cigarettes by about 5 per cent. Similarly, excise duty (excluding cess) on biris, which was last fixed in 2001, will be raised from Rs.7 to Rs.11 per thousand for non-machine made biris and from Rs.17 to Rs.24 per thousand for machine made biris. There is an exemption from excise duty for unbranded biris up to 20 lakh biris in a year.
Complaints have been received of misuse of the exemption, according to the Finance Minister. This exemption will henceforth be available subject to fulfilment of the condition of declaration with the Department of Central Excise and regular monitoring. Pan masala containing tobacco will continue to bear an excise duty of 66 per cent. However, in the case of pan masala not containing tobacco, the duty will be reduced from 66 per cent to 45 per cent. Chidambaram also proposed to withdraw the exemption for pan masala containing tobacco and other tobacco products that is now given to units in the North Eastern States. |
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