Second part of Nirmala Sitharaman's speech

71. The Stand Up India Scheme has made human dignity and selfesteem go up. “Kayakave Kailasa”. The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural 
Gas has enabled SC/ST entrepreneurs in providing Bulk LPG
Transportation. In a matter of two years over 300 entrepreneurs have
emerged. Machines and robots have been deployed to do scavenging
which also saved the manual scavengers their dignity. The synthesis
between stand up and start up with commercial banks playing the catalyst
has brought this transformational change.
Ease of Living
72. This Government aims to bring greater ease of living in the lives of
its citizens. Digital payments are gaining acceptance everywhere including
by the Government. Use of technology is an effective way to ensure this.
73. Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan was launched on 5th March,
2019 by Hon’ble PM at Ahmedabad. The Scheme aims at providing 3,000
per month as pension on attaining the age of 60 to crores of workers in
unorganized and informal sectors. About 30 lakh workers have joined the
Scheme.
74. For good quality of life and ease of living, maintaining a cleaner
environment and ensuring sustainable energy use is vital. A programme of
mass scaling up of LED bulbs for widespread distribution at household
level was taken up resulting into massive replacement of incandescent
bulbs and CFLs in the country. Approximately 35 crore LED bulbs have
been distributed under UJALA Yojana leading to cost saving of 18,341
crores annually. India is going to be free of incandescent bulbs and CFL use
has already become miniscule. We will use the approach of mission LED
bulb method to promote the use of solar stoves and battery chargers in
the country.
75. To make railway travel a pleasant and satisfying experience for the
common citizen, we will launch a massive programme of railway station
modernization this year.
Naari Tu Narayani/Women
76. Swami Vivekananda in a letter to Swami Ramakrishnanda had said:
“There is no chance for the welfare of the world unless the condition of
women is improved. It is not possible for a bird to fly on one wing”. This
Government believes that we can make progress with greater women’s
participation. 
77. In India’s growth story, particularly in the rural economy,
“grameen arth vyavastha” the role of women is a very sweet story. This
Government wishes to encourage and facilitate this role of women.
78. Gender analysis of the budget aimed at examining the budgetary
allocation through a gender lens has been in place for over a decade. I
propose to form a broad-based Committee with Government and private
stakeholders to evaluate and suggest action for moving forward.
79. There is no segment of human life where the contribution of
women is not significant. This Government firmly believes that the socioeconomic transformation that is taking place particularly in the last
decade, Indian women’s role and leadership is distinct. The recent
elections have shown record turnout of women voters at par with men.
We also have a record 78 women MPs here. This reinforces our approach
of going beyond just women-centric-policy making to building women-led
initiatives and movements.
80. This Government has supported and encouraged women
entrepreneurship through various schemes such as MUDRA, Stand UP
India and the Self Help Group (SHG) movement. In order to further
encourage women enterprise, I propose to expand the Women SHG
interest subvention programme to all districts. Furthermore, for every
verified women SHG member having a Jan Dhan Bank Account, an
overdraft of 5,000 shall be allowed. One woman in every SHG will also be
made eligible for a loan up to 1 lakh under the MUDRA Scheme.
India’s Soft Power
81. India’s soft power is appreciated in so many different ways. Some
simple examples: In the last three years on International Yoga Day, Yoga
has been practiced in large numbers in 192 countries around the world
Yoga has been practiced in large numbers. Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite
bhajan “Vaishnav Jana To Tene Kahiye” was sung by the respective lead
artists in 40 countries. The annual “Bharat Ko Jaano” quiz competition is
sought after as an event to participate by not only NRIs but also several
foreigners. 
82. I propose to consider issuing Aadhaar Card for Non-Resident
Indians with Indian Passports after their arrival in India without waiting for
180 days.
83. I propose to launch a Mission which will integrate our traditional
artisans and their creative products with global markets. Wherever
necessary we shall obtain patents and geographical indicators for them.
With this aim, for the first time in this August House, I declare that we will
launch a mission of linking creative industry with the economy and
wherever it requires protecting Intellectual Property rights taking it to the
National and International Market front.
84. To give further impetus to India’s growing influence and leadership
in the international community, Government decided to open Indian
Embassies and High Commissions abroad in countries where India does
not have a Resident Diplomatic Mission as yet. Accordingly, in March
2018, Government approved opening of 18 new Indian Diplomatic
Missions in Africa. Five Embassies have already been opened in Rwanda,
Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Guinea, and Burkina Faso in the
year 2018-19. Government intends to open another four new Embassies
in the year 2019-20. This will not only increase the footprint of India’s
overseas presence, but also enable us to provide better and more
accessible public services, especially to the local Indian community in
these countries.
85. In line with our ancient wisdom, India has always pursued a policy
of economic cooperation with countries through bilateral and regional
coordination. Indian Development Assistance Scheme (IDEAS) provides
concessional financing for projects and contributes to infrastructure
development and capacity building in the recipient developing countries.
Mindful of our position as the sixth largest economy, we will look at
alternative development models which include private sector equity,
multilateral financing, contributions from corporates, non-residents etc.
I propose to revamp the IDEAS scheme during the current financial year. 
86. The Government is developing 17 iconic Tourism Sites into world
class tourist destinations and to serve as a model for other tourism sites.
The Iconic Tourism Sites would enhance visitor experience which would
lead to increase visits of both domestic and international tourists at these
destinations.
87. With the objective of preserving rich tribal cultural heritage, a
digital repository is developed where documents, folk songs, photos &
videos regarding their evolution, place of origin, lifestyle, architecture,
education level, traditional art, folk dances and other anthropological
details of the tribes in India are stored. The repository will further be
enriched and strengthened.
Banking and Financial Sector
88. Financial gains from cleaning of the banking system are now amply
visible. NPAs of commercial banks have reduced by over 1 lakh crore
over the last year, record recovery of over 4 lakh crore due to IBC and
other measures has been effected over the last four years, provision
coverage ratio is now at its highest in seven years, and domestic credit
growth has risen to 13.8%. Government has smoothly carried out
consolidation, reducing the number of Public Sector Banks by eight. At
the same time, as many as six Public Sector Banks have been enabled to
come out of Prompt Corrective Action framework.
89. Having addressed legacy issues, Public Sector Banks are now
proposed to be further provided 70,000 crore capital to boost credit for
a strong impetus to the economy. To further improve ease of living, they
will leverage technology, offering online personal loans and doorstep
banking, and enabling customers of one Public Sector Bank to access
services across all Public Sector Banks. In addition, Government will
initiate steps to empower accountholders to remedy the current situation
in which they do not have control over deposit of cash by others in their
accounts. Reforms will also be undertaken to strengthen governance in
Public Sector Banks.
90. Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) are playing an
extremely important role in sustaining consumption demand as well as
capital formation in small and medium industrial segment. NBFCs that are
fundamentally sound should continue to get funding from banks and
mutual funds without being unduly risk averse. For purchase of high-rated
pooled assets of financially sound NBFCs, amounting to a total of Rupees
one lakh crore during the current financial year, Government will provide 
one time six months' partial credit guarantee to Public Sector Banks for
first loss of up to 10%. Further, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is the regulator
for NBFCs. However, RBI has limited regulatory authority over NBFCs.
Appropriate proposals for strengthening the regulatory authority of RBI
over NBFCs are being placed in the Finance Bill.
91. NBFCs which do public placement of debt have to maintain a
Debenture Redemption Reserve (DRR) and in addition, a special reserve as
required by RBI, has also to be maintained. To allow NBFCs to raise funds
in public issues, the requirement of creating a DRR, which is currently
applicable for only public issues as private placements are exempt, will be
done away with.
92. To bring more participants, especially NBFCs, not registered as
NBFCs-Factor, on the TReDS platform, amendment in the Factoring
Regulation Act, 2011 is necessary and steps will be taken to allow all
NBFCs to directly participate on the TReDS platform.
93. Efficient and conducive regulation of the housing sector is
extremely important in our context. The National Housing Bank (NHB),
besides being the refinancer and lender, is also regulator of the housing
finance sector. This gives a somewhat conflicting and difficult mandate to
NHB. I am proposing to return the regulation authority over the housing
finance sector from NHB to RBI. Necessary proposals have been placed in
the Finance Bill.
94. Government has announced its intention to invest 100 lakh crore
in infrastructure over the next five years. To this end, it is proposed to set
up an expert committee to study the current situation relating to longterm finance and our past experience with development finance
institutions, and recommend the structure and required flow of funds
through development finance institutions.
95. Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA)
implements and regulates the National Pension System (NPS) and Atal
Pension Yojana through various intermediaries including, inter-alia, the
NPS Trust. Keeping in view the wider interest of the subscribers and to
maintain arm’s length relationship of the NPS Trust with PFRDA, steps will
be taken to separate the NPS Trust from PFRDA with appropriate
organizational structure.
96. To facilitate on-shoring of international insurance transactions and
to enable opening of branches by foreign reinsurers in the International 
Financial Services Centre, it is proposed to reduce Net Owned Fund
requirement from 5,000 crore to 1,000 crore.
97. Government has been following the policy of disinvestment in nonfinancial public sector undertakings maintaining Government stake not to
go below 51%. Government is considering, in case where the Undertaking
is still to be retained in Government control, to go below 51% to an
appropriate level on case to case basis. Government has also decided to
modify present policy of retaining 51% Government stake to retaining
51% stake inclusive of the stake of Government controlled institutions.
98. In order to improve the capital flows into the Indian economy, it is
important to align domestic corporate systems and practices with global
ones. It is also appreciated that global finance movement in equity uses
certain parameters to evaluate the stocks in which they choose to invest.
Government intends to further encourage retail participation in CPSEs
which, of late has shown very encouraging upward trend. In order to
provide additional investment space, the Government would realign its
holding in CPSEs, including Banks to permit greater availability of its
shares and to improve depth of its market.
99. Strategic disinvestment of select CPSEs would continue to remain a
priority of this Government. In view of current macro-economic
parameters, Government would not only reinitiate the process of strategic
disinvestment of Air India, but would offer more CPSEs for strategic
participation by the private sector.
100. Government is setting an enhanced target of 1,05,000 crore of
disinvestment receipts for the financial year 2019-20. The Government
will undertake strategic sale of PSUs. The Government will also continue
to do consolidation of PSUs in the non-financial space as well.
101. ETFs have proved to be an important investment opportunity for
retail investors and has turned out to be a good instrument for
Government of India’s divestment programme. To expand this further,
Government will offer an investment option in ETFs on the lines of Equity
Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS). This would also encourage long term
investment in CPSEs.
102. For bringing better public ownership of the PSUs and also bring
greater commercial and market orientation of the listed PSUs, the
Government will take all necessary steps to meet public shareholding
norms of 25% for all listed PSUs and raise the foreign shareholding limits 
to maximum permissible sector limits for all PSU companies which are
part of Emerging Market Index.
103. India’s sovereign external debt to GDP is among the lowest globally
at less than 5%. The Government would start raising a part of its gross
borrowing programme in external markets in external currencies. This will
also have beneficial impact on demand situation for the government
securities in domestic market.
104. New series of coins of One Rupee, Two Rupees, Five Rupees, Ten
Rupees and Twenty Rupees, easily identifiable to the visually impaired,
were released by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 7th March, 2019. These
new coins will be made available for public use shortly.
105. In the first 50 years after Independence we emphasized on
Rights. Marking 75 years of our Independence, we should place emphasis
on our Duty towards India, without undermining Rights. Thinkers, all over
the world, have supported the argument that in performing one’s duty
protection of one’s rights is inherent. For the bright future of India, when
again in 2022, we will remember our freedom fighters, we should
dedicate ourselves to serve our nation.

PART B
106. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I begin by thanking our taxpayers who, as
responsible citizens, perform their duty by paying their taxes. It is
because of their valuable contribution that our Government is able to
work for our collective dream of inclusive and all round development of
our nation. At this juncture, I find wisdom in a line from Pura Nanooru, a
Tamil Sangam Era work by Pisirandaiyaar. The verse ,” Yannai pugundha
nilam” was sung as an advice to the King Pandian Arivudai Nambi : 

Meaning, a few mounds of rice from paddy that is harvested from a small
piece of land would suffice for an elephant. But what if the elephant itself
enters the field and starts eating? What it eats would be far lesser than
what it would trample over !
Direct Tax
107. Mr. Speaker, Sir, due to slew of efforts taken by our Government,
the direct tax revenue has significantly increased over the past couple of
years. It has increased by over 78% from 6.38 lakh crore in Financial
Year 2013-14 to around 11.37 lakh crore in Financial Year 2018-19. It is
now growing at double digit rate every year.
108. Let me recall and reiterate this Government’s effort over the past
five years to alleviate the tax burden on small and medium incomeearners. This includes self-employed as well as small traders, salary
earners, and senior citizens. Only when their annual taxable income
exceeds 5 lakh, they are required to pay any income tax. The details of 
our efforts and achievements on this front during the past few years are
given in the Annexure.
109. Mr Speaker, Sir, my tax proposals will aim to stimulate growth,
incentivise affordable housing, and encourage start-ups by releasing
entrepreneurial spirits. It will also be geared towards promoting digital
economy. I aim to simplify tax administration and bring greater
transparency.
110. So far as corporate tax is concerned, we continue with phased
reduction in rates. Currently, the lower rate of 25 % is only applicable to
companies having annual turnover up to 250 Crore. I propose to widen
this to include all companies having annual turnover up to 400 crore.
This will cover 99.3% of the companies. Now only 0.7% of companies will
remain outside this rate.
Mega Investment in Sunrise and Advanced Technology Areas
111. In order to boost economic growth and Make in India, the
government will launch a scheme to invite global companies through a
transparent competitive bidding to set up mega-manufacturing plants in
sunrise and advanced technology areas such as Semi-conductor
Fabrication (FAB), Solar Photo Voltaic cells, Lithium storage batteries,
Solar electric charging infrastructure, Computer Servers, Laptops, etc.
and provide them investment linked income tax exemptions under
section 35 AD of the Income Tax Act, and other indirect tax benefits.
Electric Vehicles
112. Considering our large consumer base, we aim to leapfrog and
envision India as a global hub of manufacturing of Electric Vehicles.
Inclusion of Solar storage batteries and charging infrastructure in the
above scheme will boost our efforts. Government has already moved GST
council to lower the GST rate on electric vehicles from 12% to 5%. Also to
make electric vehicle affordable to consumers, our government will
provide additional income tax deduction of 1.5 lakh on the interest paid
on loans taken to purchase electric vehicles. This amounts to a benefit of
around 2.5 lakh over the loan period to the taxpayers who take loans
to purchase electric vehicle.
Start-ups
113. Start-ups in India are taking firm roots and their continued growth
needs to be encouraged. To resolve the so-called ‘angel tax’ issue, the
start-ups and their investors who file requisite declarations and provide
information in their returns will not be subjected to any kind of scrutiny
in respect of valuations of share premiums. The issue of establishing
identity of the investor and source of his funds will be resolved by 
putting in place a mechanism of e-verification. With this, funds raised by
start-ups will not require any kind of scrutiny from the Income Tax
Department.
114. In addition, special administrative arrangements shall be made by
Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) for pending assessments of startups and redressal of their grievances. It will be ensured that no inquiry or
verification in such cases can be carried out by the Assessing Officer
without obtaining approval of his supervisory officer.
115. At present, start-ups are not required to justify fair market value
of their shares issued to certain investors including Category-I Alternative
Investment Funds (AIF). I propose to extend this benefit to Category-II
Alternative Investment Funds also. Therefore, valuation of shares issued
to these funds shall be beyond the scope of income tax scrutiny.
116. I also propose to relax some of the conditions for carry forward
and set off of losses in the case of start-ups. I also propose to extend the
period of exemption of capital gains arising from sale of residential house
for investment in start-ups up to 31.3.2021 and relax certain conditions
of this exemption.
Affordable housing
117. For realisation of the goal of ‘Housing for All’ and affordable
housing, a tax holiday has already been provided on the profits earned by
developers of affordable housing. Also, interest paid on housing loans is
allowed as a deduction to the extent of 2 lakh in respect of selfoccupied property. In order to provide a further impetus, I propose to
allow an additional deduction of up to 1,50,000/- for interest paid on
loans borrowed up to 31st March, 2020 for purchase of an affordable
house valued up to 45 lakh. Therefore, a person purchasing an
affordable house will now get an enhanced interest deduction up to 3.5
lakh. This will translate into a benefit of around 7 lakh to the middle
class home-buyers overtheir loan period of 15 years.
NBFCs
118. Non-banking financial companies play an increasingly important
role in India’s financial system. With the enhanced levels of regulation
they are subjected to by the Reserve Bank of India, there is a need to
provide greater parity in their tax treatment vis-à-vis scheduled banks.
Currently, interest on certain bad or doubtful debts made by scheduled
banks and other financial institutions is allowed to be offered to tax in
the year in which this interest is actually received. I propose to extend 
this facility to deposit taking as well as systemically important nondeposit taking NBFCs also.
IFSC
119. To promote the International Financial Services Centre(IFSC) in
GIFT City, series of measures have already been taken in the past by this
Government. With a view to further incentivising the IFSC, I propose to
further provide several direct tax incentives to an IFSC including 100 %
profit-linked deduction under section 80-LA in any ten-year block within a
fifteen-year period, exemption from dividend distribution tax from
current and accumulated income to companies and mutual funds,
exemptions on capital gain to Category-III AIF and interest payment on
loan taken from non-residents.
Securities Transaction Tax (STT)
120. I propose to give relief in levy of Securities Transaction Tax (STT)
by restricting it only to the difference between settlement and strike
price in case of exercise of options.
Simplification and Ease of living
121. India’s Ease of Doing Business ranking under the category of
‘paying taxes’ showed a significant jump from 172 in 2017 to 121 in the
2019. I now propose to implement series of measures that will leverage
technology to make compliance easier for the taxpayers.
Interchangeability of PAN and Aadhaar
122. Mr Speaker, Sir, more than 120 Crore Indians now have Aadhaar.
Therefore, for ease and convenience of tax payers, I propose to make
PAN and Aadhaar interchangeable and allow those who do not have PAN
to file Income Tax returns by simply quoting their Aadhaar number and
also use it wherever they are required to quote PAN.
Pre-filling of Income-tax Returns
123. Pre-filled tax returns will be made available to taxpayers which will
contain details of salary income, capital gains from securities, bank
interests, and dividends etc. and tax deductions. Information regarding
these incomes will be collected from the concerned sources such as
Banks, Stock exchanges, mutual funds, EPFO, State Registration
Departments etc. This will not only significantly reduce the time taken to
file a tax return, but will also ensure accuracy of reporting of income and
taxes. 
Faceless e-assessment
124. The existing system of scrutiny assessments in the Income-tax
Department involves a high level of personal interaction between the
taxpayer and the Department, which leads to certain undesirable
practices on the part of tax officials. To eliminate such instances, and to
give shape to the vision of the Hon’ble Prime Minister, a scheme of
faceless assessment in electronic mode involving no human interface is
being launched this year in a phased manner. To start with, such eassessments shall be carried out in cases requiring verification of certain
specified transactions or discrepancies.
125. Cases selected for scrutiny shall be allocated to assessment units
in a random manner and notices shall be issued electronically by a
Central Cell, without disclosing the name, designation or location of the
Assessing Officer. The Central Cell shall be the single point of contact
between the taxpayer and the Department. This new scheme of
assessment will represent a paradigm shift in the functioning of the
Income Tax Department.
Digital Payments
126. Mr. Speaker, Sir, our Government has taken a number of
initiatives in the recent past for the promotion of digital payments and
less cash economy. To promote digital payments further, I propose to
take a slew of measures. To discourage the practice of making business
payments in cash, I propose to levy TDS of 2% on cash withdrawal
exceeding 1 crore in a year from a bank account. Further, there are
low-cost digital modes of payment such as BHIM UPI, UPI-QR Code,
Aadhaar Pay, certain Debit cards, NEFT, RTGS etc. which can be used to
promote less cash economy. I, therefore, propose that the business
establishments with annual turnover more than 50 crore shall offer
such low cost digital modes of payment to their customers and no
charges or Merchant Discount Rate shall be imposed on customers as
well as merchants. RBI and Banks will absorb these costs from the savings
that will accrue to them on account of handling less cash as people move 
to these digital modes of payment. Necessary amendments are being
made in the Income Tax Act and the Payments and Settlement Systems
Act, 2007 to give effect to these provisions.
Revenue Mobilization
127. Mr Speaker Sir, as I have stated earlier, we have taken several
measures in the past to alleviate the tax burden on small and medium
income-earners as those having annual income up to 5 lakh are not
required to pay any income-tax. We are thankful to the taxpayers who
play a major role in nation building by paying their taxes. However, in
view of rising income levels, those in the highest income brackets, need
to contribute more to the Nation’s development. I, therefore, propose to
enhance surcharge on individuals having taxable income from 2 crore
to 5 crore and 5 crore and above so that effective tax rates for these
two categories will increase by around 3 % and 7 % respectively.
Other measures
128. I also propose to simplify the tax law to reduce genuine hardships
being caused to taxpayers which include enhancing threshold of tax for
launching prosecution for non-filing of returns and exempting
appropriate class of persons from the anti-abuse provisions of section
50CA and section 56 of the Income Tax Act.
Indirect Taxes
129. Now coming to Indirect Tax, we are aware that the landscape has
changed significantly with implementation of GST. In every sense, this
has been a monumental reform. Centre and States coming together and
agreeing to pool in their sovereign power of taxation for common good
of the country was unprecedented. 17 taxes and 13 cesses became one
tax. Multitude of rates instantly became four. Almost all commodities
saw rate reduction. Tens of returns were replaced by one. Taxpayer’s
interface with tax departments got reduced. Border checks got
eliminated. Goods started moving freely across states, which saved time
and energy. A truck started doing two trips in the same time in which it
was doing one. Thus, dream of one nation, one tax, one market was

realised. The GST Council deserves all the credit for this. 

130. In the initial phase GST witnessed certain teething problems. This
was natural considering the scale of the reform. However, the Council,
Centre and States proactively worked to resolve these issues. GST rates
have also been reduced significantly, where relief of about 92,000 crore
per year has been given. We should not lose sight of this fact while
judging the performance of GST. The details are given in the annexure.
131. We are further simplifying the GST processes. A simplified single
monthly return is being rolled out. Taxpayer having annual turnover of
less than 5 crore shall file quarterly return. Free accounting software
for return preparation has been made available to small businesses. A
fully automated GST refund module shall be implemented. Multiple tax
ledgers for a taxpayer shall be replaced by one.
132. It is also proposed to move to an electronic invoice system
wherein invoice details will be captured in a central system at the time of
issuance. This will eventually be used to prefill the taxpayer’s returns.
There will be no need for a separate e-way bill. Its roll out would begin
from January, 2020. Electronic invoice system will significantly reduce
the compliance burden.
133. On the Customs side my proposals are driven with the objectives
of securing our borders, achieving higher domestic value addition
through make in India, reducing import dependence, protection to MSME
sector, promoting clean energy, curbing non-essential imports, and
correcting inversions.
134. Defence has an immediate requirement of modernisation and
upgradation. This is a national priority. For this purpose, import of
defence equipment that are not being manufactured in India are being
exempted from the basic customs duty.
135. Make in India is a cherished goal. In order to provide domestic
industry a level playing field, basic customs duty is being increased on
items such as cashew kernels, PVC, Vinyl flooring, tiles, metal fittings,
mountings for furniture, auto parts, certain kinds of synthetic rubbers,
marble slabs, optical fibre cable, CCTV camera, IP camera, digital and
network video recorders etc. Also, exemptions from custom duty on
certain electronic items which are now being manufactured in India are 
being withdrawn. Further, end use based exemptions on palm stearin,
fatty oils, and exemptions to various kinds of papers are also being
withdrawn. To encourage domestic publishing and printing industry, 5 %
custom duty is being imposed on imported books.
136. To further promote domestic manufacturing, customs duty
reductions are being proposed on certain raw materials and capital
goods. These include certain inputs of CRGO sheets, amorphous alloy
ribbon, ethylene di-chloride, propylene oxide, cobalt matte, naphtha,
wool fibres, inputs for manufacture of artificial kidney and disposable
sterilised dialyser, and fuels for nuclear power plants. To further
incentivise e-mobility, customs duty is being exempted on certain parts
of electric vehicles. Customs duty is also being exempted on capital goods
required for manufacture of specified electronic goods.
137. Export duty is being rationalised on raw and semi-finished leather
to provide relief to this sector.
138. Crude prices have softened from their highs. This gives me a room
to review excise duty and cess on petrol and diesel. I propose to increase
Special Additional Excise duty and Road and Infrastructure Cess each by
one rupee a litre on petrol and diesel. It is also proposed to increase
custom duty on gold and other precious metals from 10% to 12.5%.
139. Tobacco products and crude attract National Calamity and
Contingent duty. In certain cases this levy has been contested on the
ground that there is no basic excise duty on these items. To address this
issue, a nominal basic excise duty is being imposed.
140. I am also proposing few amendments to the Customs Act. Recent
trends reveal that certain bogus entities are resorting to unfair practices
to avail undue concessions and export incentives. While we have
intensified our efforts against such nefarious activities, provisions are
being incorporated in the Act for enhanced penalty and prosecution for
such offences. Further, misuse of duty free scrips and drawback facility
involving more than fifty lakh rupees will be a cognizable and nonbailable offence. 
141. GST has just completed two years. An area that concerns me is
that we have huge pending litigations from pre-GST regime. More than
3.75 lakh crore is blocked in litigations in service tax and excise. There is a
need to unload this baggage and allow business to move on. I, therefore,
propose, a Legacy Dispute Resolution Scheme that will allow quick
closure of these litigations. I would urge the trade and business to avail
this opportunity and be free from legacy litigations.

142. The details of my tax proposals are given in the Annexure.

143. Mr. Speaker Sir, with these words I commend the Budget to this

august House.