Union Budget: The recent budget announced by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman brings relief to consumers by reducing customs duties on various imported goods, making luxury items and essential commodities more affordable.
- Mobile Phones: The iPhone 15 Pro (128 GB), currently priced at Rs 1,34,900, will now cost around Rs 1,29,000 due to a reduction in basic customs duty from 20% to 15%, as per a TOI report.
- Chargers: Lightning-fast charging is now more affordable with customs duty on mobile phone chargers reduced from 20% to 15%. An iPhone charger priced at Rs 7,500 could now cost Rs 7,162.
- Gold and Silver: The celebration of Diwali and Dhanteras in Indian households will now be at a larger scale as gold coins, silver bars have now become cheaper. A 10-gram imported gold coin, previously priced at Rs 86,281, will now cost Rs 79,500, and a 1 kg imported silver bar, formerly Rs 1,06,000, will now be Rs 97,700 due to a reduction in customs duty on gold and silver bars from 15% to 6%.
- Cancer Drugs: Cancer patients benefit as three more cancer drugs become exempt from customs duty. For instance, a lung cancer drug previously priced at Rs 2,04,000 could now be cheaper by Rs 19,000.
- Platinum Wedding Bands: Expressing love with platinum wedding bands will now be more economical. The effective customs duty on these items has been reduced from 15.4% to 6.4%. A DeBeers platinum band, earlier costing Rs 2,46,000, will now be cheaper by Rs 19,000.
- Natural Sand: Building a dream home using imported natural sand will cost less as customs duty on natural sand is now exempt. The price for 20 tonnes of imported natural sand, previously Rs 48,000, will now be Rs 45,500.
- Beauty products: Achieving soft skin is now more affordable as the reduction in customs duty on raw shea nuts lowers the cost of Bath and Body Works 21 ml Shea butter hand cream, previously priced at Rs 599.
These measures aim to lighten the financial burden on consumers, making luxury and essential items more accessible.
(With inputs from TOI)