Finance Minister Piyush Goyal, who was appointed on January 23rd, presented the much awaited Interim budget on February 1, 2019. It is the last budget of the Modi Government before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The article brings together all the important highlights of the Interim Budget 2019 that you need to know right away.
Full tax rebate
Individual taxpayers who have an annual income of up to 5 lakh rupees will get a full tax rebate. In other words, they won’t have to pay income tax anymore. Whereas individuals earning more up to 6.5 Lakh rupees will not need to pay any tax if they invest in provident funds and prescribed equities.
Gratuity payment limit increased
The gratuity payment (A monetary benefit given by the employer to the employee at the time of retirement) has been raised from 10 Lakh rupees to 20 Lakh rupees now.
Enhanced border security
As a token of gratitude and appreciation to the Indian soldiers, the defense budget of the country has been increased to Rs. 3 Lakh Crores resulting in more strengthened border security. It has been proved good news to all the soldiers along with the citizens of the country. After listening to the news, how’s the josh people?
Support to farmers
Under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, around 120 million farm households will be given income support of Rs. 2000, thrice a year along with up to two hectares of land. Additionally, the PM Kisan scheme also received a budgetary allocation of Rs. 75,000 crore. Also, farmers who have been severely affected by natural calamities will get financial support of 2% interest and 3% upon timely repayment.
Guaranteed Monthly pension
Under the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Mandhan, a monthly pension of Rs. 3000 per month will be given to workers after 60 years of age in the unorganized sector such as Restaurants, Hotels, Mining industries, Manufacturing companies, etc.
TDS Threshold on Rental income increased
The TDS threshold on the rental income has been increased from Rs. 1.8 Lakh to Rs. 2.4 Lakh.
Quarterly returns allowed to businesses
Businesses with an annual turnover of less than Rs. 5 crores, comprising over 90% of the GST payers will be permitted to return quarterly returns.
Relief in GST to consumers
GST, which has been continuously reduced have resulted in relief of 80,000 crore rupees to consumers. Many items of daily use for the poor and middle class are now in the category of 0%-5% tax.
Electronic verification of tax returns
Within a time period of 2 years, all the verification of tax returns will be done electronically by an anonymized tax system without any involvement of the tax officials.
Single window clearance for filmmaking
Single window clearance for filmmaking will be made available to the Indian filmmakers. Anti-camcording provision will also be introduced to cinematography act to retain film privacy. With the single window clearance for the filmmaking system, the filmmakers won’t have to ask for permissions from multiple authorities rather a web portal will be created to facilitate such permissions for film completion in a time-bound manner.
Income tax returns and refunds within 24 hours
With this announcement, the citizens won’t have any hassle with the income tax returns and refunds. All of them will be completed within a period of 24 hours.
Digital villages
One lakh digital villages will be planned in the next 5 years. A digital village refers to a village that has voice as well as data connectivity.
Vande Bharat Express to be launched
An indigenously developed semi high train named Vande Bharat Express will be launched soon. Vande Bharat Express is said to be the fastest engine-less train in the Indian Railways.
These were the important highlights of the Interim budget 2019. Are you happy with these changes? Share your feedback in the comment section below.
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