In keeping with the convention, in her Interim Budget speech for 2024-25, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman did not announce any changes relating to taxation and proposed to retain the same tax rates for direct taxes and indirect taxes including import duties.

“However, certain tax benefits to start-ups and investments made by sovereign wealth or pension funds as also tax exemption on certain income of some IFSC units are expiring on 31.03.2024. To provide continuity in taxation, I propose to extend the date to 31.03.2025,” the minister said in her speech, the first Budget in the new Parliament building.

Revised Estimates 2023-24

The Revised Estimate of the total receipts other than borrowings is ₹27.56 lakh crore, of which the tax receipts are ₹23.24 lakh crore. The Revised Estimate of the total expenditure is ₹44.90 lakh crore.

The revenue receipts at ₹30.03 lakh crore are expected to be higher than the Budget Estimate, reflecting strong growth momentum and formalisation in the economy.

The Revised Estimate of the fiscal deficit is 5.8 per cent of GDP, improving on the Budget Estimate, notwithstanding moderation in the nominal growth estimates.

Budget Estimates 2024-25

Coming to 2024-25, the total receipts other than borrowings and the total expenditure are estimated at ₹30.80 and 47.66 lakh crore respectively. The tax receipts are estimated at ₹26.02 lakh crore.

The scheme of fifty-year interest free loan for capital expenditure to states will be continued this year with total outlay of ₹1.3 lakh crore.

“We continue on the path of fiscal consolidation, as announced in my Budget Speech for 2021-22, to reduce fiscal deficit below 4.5 per cent by 2025-26. The fiscal deficit in 2024-25 is estimated to be 5.1 per cent of GDP, adhering to that path,” Sitharaman said in her sixth consecutive Budget.

The gross and net market borrowings through dated securities during 2024-25 are estimated at ₹14.13 and ₹11.75 lakh crore respectively. Both will be less than that in 2023-24. “Now that the private investments are happening at scale, the lower borrowings by the Central Government will facilitate larger availability of credit for the private sector,” Sitharaman said.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RKS)

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