Budget 2025 Expectations LIVE: What various sectors seek in Finance Minister's 'bahi khata' on Feb 1
As the nation awaits the upcoming Budget, set to be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, 2025, expectations are rising daily from various sectors and industries, including FMCG, healthcare, automobile, metal, insurance, and telecom. These sectors are looking forward to concessions such as reduced taxes, increased production incentives, compensation, or relief.
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As the nation awaits the upcoming Budget, set to be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, 2025, expectations are rising daily from various sectors and industries, including FMCG, healthcare, automobile, metal, insurance, and telecom. These sectors are looking forward to concessions such as reduced taxes, increased production incentives, compensation, or relief.
Zee Business, economists, and top company officials have shared their expectations for changes in the Budget.
Here are the latest updates on what they are hoping for:
As the nation awaits the upcoming Budget, set to be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, 2025, expectations are rising daily from various sectors and industries, including FMCG, healthcare, automobile, metal, insurance, and telecom. These sectors are looking forward to concessions such as reduced taxes, increased production incentives, compensation, or relief.
Zee Business, economists, and top company officials have shared their expectations for changes in the Budget.
Here are the latest updates on what they are hoping for:
Latest Updates
Budget Expectations 2025: What expert say on personal tax?
According to Divya Baweja of Deloitte, ease of tax compliance for purchase of property from Non-Residents (NRs) can be expected in upcoming Budget.
Know here what Baweja said:
- Simplify the TDS compliance for home buyers where the seller is an NRI
- Enabling tax payments from overseas bank accounts
- E-verification using OTPs to foreign mobile numbers
- Credit of tax refund to overseas bank accounts
Budget Expectations 2025: Government should end long-drawn litigation: Deloitte
According to Mahesh Jaising of Deloitte, the government should end to resolve long-standing disputes, alleviate the burdened judicial
pipeline and upgrade the law to keep pace with technological advancements and international best practices.
Here are other expectations of Mahesh Jaising:
- Time-bound SVB investigations
- Continued exemption of IGST and compensation cess under the MOOWR scheme
- Reduction of procedural compliances to avail Free Trade Agreement (FTA) benefits under CAROTAR
- In case of an inter-unit MooWR to MooWR transfer of goods/resultant products, enabling provisions to be created for disclosing only the deferred duty amount on the imported goods without disclosing per unit price/assessable value of the imported goods
Budget Expectations 2025: Government may reduce corporate tax rates
Rohinton Sidhwa of Deloitte has expected reduction of headline corporate tax rates for new manufacturing companies and Global Capability Centres (GCC).
Here's is a summary of Sidhwa's expectation for Direct Tax:
- Incentivising innovation
- Rationalisation of withholding tax rates
- Clarity on transactions involving the transfer of shares
- International Tax: Relaxation of compliance for claiming treaty benefit and clarity on applicability of Significant Economic Presence (SEP)
Budget Expectations 2025: Government to prioritise skill development, jobs: Economist
The government will continue to prioritise and enhance efforts towards skill development and employment generation, maintaining the positive momentum, according to Rumki Majumdar, Economist at Deloitte.
Here is the list of expectations of the economist:
- Inflation remains a crucial challenge for the economy for an extended period, making it a critical consideration for the upcoming budget.
- The Economic Survey 2024 recommended that India’s inflation targeting framework exclude food prices, as food inflation is primarily supply-driven rather than demand-driven.
- Government should address food inflation through supply-side measures rather than relying on the RBI to manage it with demand-side tools.
- Focus on long-term solutions aimed at strengthening the agricultural value chain, incentivising production and addressing structural supply-side issues that add to the delivery cost.
- In the short term, the government to go with Direct Benefit Transfer (DBTs) and food coupons to support rural consumption, as rural inflation is higher and affects rural demand.
Budget Expectations 2025: Any expectations for automobile sector?
According to Zee Business research, India's auto industry expects incentives to promote hybrid vehicles, expansion of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for EV charging infrastructure and components, and incentives for hydrogen fuel research.
Here is the list of key expectations from the sector:
- Incentives for Hybrid Vehicles
- Expansion of PLI Scheme
- Incentives for Hydrogen Fuel Research
- The government may plan to increase rural consumption will be closely watched
- SIAM and other companies have demanded increased incentives for vehicle scrapping
Budget 2025 Expectations LIVE Update: Deloitte seeks amendment related to substantial contribution
Currently, under Section 13(3) of the Act, a person contributing any amount above Rs 50,000 qualifies as a specified person, a limit that was last doubled from Rs 25,000.
In light of the current economic growth and rupee value, the limit of Rs 50,000 (unchanged for around 20 years) is commonly met even in the case of one-off donations, according to Deloitte.
This limit should be raised to a higher amount, say Rs 10 lakh, given the current economic scenario, says the accounting firm.
Also, the monetary limit is to be tested on a yearly basis, as against a one-time basis, it adds.
Budget 2025 Expectations LIVE Update: Deloitte has listed Amendments in Section 13 of Income Tax Act
Section 13 of the Income Tax Act deals with the tax exemption of income of entities such as trusts and charitable institutions under certain conditions.
In simple terms, Section 13 provides exemptions from income tax for charitable organisations and trusts that meet specific criteria.
Deloitte has listed a few expectations related to this Section in the upcoming Budget.
Budget 2025 Expectations LIVE: With taxpayers eyeing big relief in Nirmala Sitharaman's speech, here's your complete guide to new vs old tax regime
Taxpayers expect huge relief in income tax slabs in the upcoming Union Budget. The reason is it increases their consumption power and helps them fight inflation. Budget 2025 will be no exception. Since the income of central government employees may increase due to the 8th Pay Commission, private sector employees and a lot of others are expecting Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to announce huge income tax benefits during her Budget 2025 speech on Saturday, February 1.
SBI Research, the research wing of State Bank of India, is expecting the government to reduce tax from 20 per cent to 15 per cent for individuals earning between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 15 lakh annually.
For a taxpayer keenly following budget proceedings, such expectations are common.
However, as things stand now, let us take you through various tax slabs in the old and new tax regimes and where you have to pay a higher tax. Get answers to these questions in this article.
To boost India's FMCG, retail and jewellery consumption, the government may offer tax rate concessions, according to Zee Business research.
Key expectations from the industry include:
- An increase in MGNREGA allocation is expected, leading to higher rural incomes
- The government may announce schemes to promote digital infrastructure, skill development, and MSMEs
- Urban development projects and service industries will focus on increasing urban demand
- No changes in taxes on cigarettes are expected
- Relief in tax rates to boost consumption in FMCG, retail, and jewelry sectors
- Increased allocation to Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act to raise rural incomes
- Schemes to promote digital infrastructure, skill development, and MSMEs
- Focus on urban development projects and service industries to boost urban demand
Budget Expectations 2025: What does India's insurance sector want from FM?
According to Zee Business, India's insurance sector urged the government to increase insurance limit, and introduce it in new tax regime.
Here are some highlights what the sector demands:
- Increase insurance limit under Section 80D; Rs 50,000 for youth, Rs 1 lakh for senior citizens
- Introduce insurance section in New Tax regime
- Implement measures to prevent insurance fraud
- Establish a CIBIL-like system to prevent fraudulent individuals from obtaining insurance
- Make life insurance mandatory for working individuals, similar to PF"
Domestic infrastructure's budget allocation may increase to Rs 11 lakh crore
India's infrastructure budget allocation may see an increase of 12-13 per cent to Rs 11 lakh crore, driven by the National Infrastructure Pipeline and the Gati Shakti Master Plan, according to Zee Business. Meanwhile, the road sector may witness a 10-15 per cent increase.
Key areas that may receive substantial allocations include:
- Jal Jeevan Mission
- High-Speed Rail: A flagship project to enhance rail connectivity
- Smart Cities: Focuses on urban development and infrastructure upgrades
- Inland Waterways Development: Seeks to promote water transportation and reduce logistics costs
- Transmission and DISCOM privatisation: To improve efficiency and attract private investment
- Infrastructure financing: To facilitate investment in infrastructure companies and projects
Budget Expectations 2025: Govrnment should hike import duty, concessions, promote green steel: Metal Industry
According to Zee Business, the country's metal sector has high hopes from the budget, expecting a direct boost from increased allocations for construction and infrastructure.
Here are key demands from medal industry:
- Impose 7.5 per cent duty on aluminium scrap imports
- Concessions on imports of coking coal to reduce production costs
- Increase import duty on steel from 7.5 per cent to 15 per cent to protect domestic industries
- Focus on the production of green steel, which can help reduce the sector's carbon footprint
Budget 2025 Expectations LIVE: Hope rolling stock modernisation, urban mobility, infra enhancements remain in focus, says Titagarh Rail Systems' Umesh Chowdhary
“We hope the upcoming Union Budget 2025 will continue its focus on the modernization of rolling stock, urban mobility, and infrastructure enhancements. India's metro systems, now among the largest globally, have significantly transformed urban life and mobility," says Umesh Chowdhary, VC and MD, Titagarh Rail Systems.
Equally crucial is the continued development of safety, infrastructure and rolling stock to improve trade connectivity and drive economic growth, he says.
"We anticipate a strong commitment to the 'Make in India' initiative and reflective policies within the sector, strengthening domestic manufacturing and boosting exports. We hope that the Budget would provide a clear roadmap for India’s transportation future, positioning the nation as a global leader in seamless mobility," adds Chowdhary.
Budget Expectations 2025 LIVE Update: New tax regime for all? SBI Research suggests removing old regime exemptions
A shift to the new tax regime for all taxpayers and a flat 15 per cent tax on fixed deposit interest are among the recommendations listed by the research wing of the country's largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), in its recently released research report titled 'Prelude to Union Budget 2025-26'.
The report suggests a series of tax reforms aimed at simplifying the tax structure, boosting disposable income, and encouraging savings.