In a major relief for taxpayers, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced the extension of the time limit for filing updated returns for any assessment year. She stated that the time limit will be extended from the current two years to four years.
Presenting her eighth consecutive Budget this year, Sitharaman proposed the exemption of Tax Collected at Source (TCS) in the education sector where an education loan is taken from particular financial institutions. The FM mentioned that 33,000 taxpayers have availed of the Vivad Se Vishwas 2.0 scheme to settle disputes related to direct taxes.
Meanwhile, in good news for senior citizens, the Finance Minister announced the doubling of the limit for tax deduction on interest income to ₹1 lakh. She also proposed an increase in the limit for TDS on rent to ₹6 lakh.
Among other proposals, Nirmala Sitharaman suggested the extension of duty exemptions on capital goods used for the production of lithium-ion batteries. This move aims to promote indigenous manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries, which are used as components in the making of electric vehicles and mobile handsets. "I am proposing to add 35 more capital goods to the exempted list for EV battery manufacturing and 28 more capital goods for mobile phone battery manufacturing," she said.
She also announced the elimination of import duties on 12 important minerals, lithium-ion battery scrap, cobalt products, and others. Additionally, she proposed not to levy more than one cess or surcharge. The FM also proposed the exemption of the social welfare surcharge on 82 tariff lines.
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