Union Budget 2019 Income Tax live updates

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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is presenting her first Union Budget on Friday, and all eyes are on announcements related to taxation. It is widely expected that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government will provide some tax relief for the common man. However, concerns have been raised in the Economic Survey regarding challenges in the fiscal front due to the economic slowdown impacting tax collections amid rising state expenditure on the agriculture sector.

In Union Budget 2019, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that PAN and Aadhaar will be interchangeable and taxpayers can use either to file Income Tax returns.. The Finance Minister is also expected to lower corporate taxes for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

In the interim budget presented by Piyush Goyal under the previous Modi government, income tax rebate for individual taxpayers with taxable annual income up to Rs 5 lakh was announced. The move benefitted nearly 3 crore taxpayers, but the government could not make any announcement for the benefit of those who earn more than Rs 5 lakh annually. It is now to be seen if India’s first full time woman Finance Minister will bring smiles on the faces of the salaried class.

Here are the live updates:

05 July 2019

13:09 PM

GST has completed two years, we have huge pending litigations from pre-GST regime. There is a need to unload this baggage. I propose a Legacy Dispute Resolution scheme that will allow quick closure of litigation, says Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

13:08 PM

Customs duty on gold and precious metals increased from 10% to 12.5%.

13:07 PM

Finance Minister announces special additional excise duty of Rs 1 per litre on petrol and diesel.

13:06 PM

Nominal basic excise duty on cigarettes, tobacco products.

13:05 PM

Customs duty exempted on capital goods required for manufacture of specified electric goods.

13:03 PM

No basic customs duty on defence equipments imported from outside, not manufactured in India.

13:02 PM

Income tax increases by 3% for those earning between Rs 2-5 crore and 7% for those with income above Rs 5 crore. Taxpayers with annual turnover of less than 5 crore will only file quarterly returns, announces Finance Minister.

12:58 PM

Finance Minister proposes increase in surcharge for those earning Rs 2 to 5 crore and above Rs 5 crore.

12:58 PM

TDS of 2% on cash withdrawal exceeding Rs 1 crore in a year from a bank account to discourage cash transactions for business deals.

12:56 PM

"More than 120 crore Indians now have Aadhar card, therefore for ease of tax payers I propose to make PAN card and Aadhar card interchangeable and allow those who don't have PAN to file returns by simply quoting Aadhar number and use it wherever they require to use PAN," says Finance Minister.

12:53 PM

Pre-filed tax returns to be made available to tax payers, says Finance Minister.

12:50 PM

Finance Minister proposes to make PAN and Aadhaar inter-changeable to help people in filing their tax returns. One can pay income tax returns by using either PAN or Aadhaar.

12:48 PM

For purchase of an affordable house, buyers to get additional tax benefits on loans for the period of 15 years, announces Finance Minister.

12:46 PM

Finance Minister proposes easing angel tax on start-ups.

12:45 PM

Funds raised by startups will not be subject to any scrutiny by authorities, says Nirmala Sitharaman.

12:43 PM

Addition Income Tax deduction of Rs 1.5 lakh on interest paid on loan taken to purchase electric vehicle.

12:41 PM

Corporate tax at 25 per cent for all companies with annual turnover of up to Rs 400 crore.

12:40 PM

I aim to simplify tax system to bring greater transparency, says FM.

12:40 PM

Only if annual income is above Rs 5 lakh does one need to pay any tax

12:40 PM

Due to slew of efforts by this government, direct tax revenue has increaded by over 78%, from 6.38 lakh crore to 11.68 lakh crore, says FM.

12:38 PM

We do not intend to trample anybody with tax structure, says Nirmala Sitharaman

12:35 PM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman thanks tax payers for their contribution towards development of the country.

11:43 AM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announces Pradhan Mantri Karam Yogi Manthan scheme, saying pension through will benefit three crore retail traders and shopkeepers.