Budget 2025: What Became Cheaper and What Became More Expensive? Full List

New Delhi, 1 February – (DeccanLive.com): In the Union Budget for 2025-26 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, some items will become cheaper due to tax exemptions, while others will become more expensive due to increased taxes.

What Became Cheaper?

1. Life-saving Medicines:
   36 life-saving medicines for cancer and rare diseases are now exempt from basic customs duty (BCD). 37 other medicines also received similar exemptions.
2. Important Minerals:
   Cobalt powder, lithium-ion battery waste, lead, zinc, and 12 other essential minerals are now exempt from BCD. The customs duty on platinum findings has been reduced from 25% to 6.4%.
3. Electric Vehicle (EV) & Mobile Battery Production:
   35 new products for EV battery manufacturing and 28 more products for mobile phone battery manufacturing have been added to the BCD exemption list.
4. Shipbuilding:
   BCD exemptions for ships and their parts have been extended for the next 10 years.
5. Ethernet Switches:
   The customs duty on carrier-grade Ethernet switches has been reduced from 20% to 10%, matching the duty on non-carrier grade switches.
6. Chemical Compounds:
   The BCD on pyrimidine and piperazine-based chemical compounds has been reduced from 10% to 7.5%.
7. Open-cell Displays:
   Customs duty on open-cell displays has been reduced to 5%.
8. Fish and Seafood:
   Customs duty on fish paste has been reduced from 30% to 5%. Frozen fish will now attract 5% duty instead of 30%, and fish hydrolysates will see a drop from 15% to 5%.
9. Synthetic Flavoring Essence:
   The BCD on synthetic flavoring essence used in the food and beverage industry has been reduced from 100% to 20%.
10. Leather:
    Wet-blue leather is now fully exempt from customs duty.
11. Other Products:
    Several products such as wired headsets, microphones, USB cables, motorcycles with engine capacity under 1600cc, and more will also see cheaper prices due to BCD exemptions.

What Became More Expensive?

1. Flat Panel Displays:
   The BCD on flat panel displays used in TVs and mobile phones has been increased from 10% to 20%.
2. Special Tariff Lines:
   The exemption on 82 tariff lines has been removed, making certain imports more expensive.
3. Knitted Fabrics:
   The BCD on knitted fabrics under special tariffs has been increased from 10%-20% to 20% or Rs. 115 per kilogram (whichever is higher).
4. Other Expensive Items:
   Smart meters, solar cells, imported shoes, candles, boats, PVC flex films, PVC sheets, PVC banners, and certain imported woven fabrics will also become more expensive.

Key Highlights of the Budget:

• The government is focusing on boosting investments and promoting Make in India.
• Life-saving medicines becoming cheaper is a relief for the healthcare sector.
• However, the increased costs of digital education equipment like flat panel displays might affect the digital education sector.
• There are also new schemes to support infrastructure, defense, and startups.
• The budget provides tax exemptions in several areas to promote exports and strengthen local manufacturing.