Interim Budget at a glance

Ahead of the elections the Interim Budget slashed excise duty automobiles, capital goods and consumer non durables. Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Monday, Feb 17, sought to lighten the burden on the middle class by lowering excise duty on cars, SUVs and two-wheelers and proposed no increase in taxes on other products. As per his proposal, excise duty on small cars, motorcycles, scooters and commercial vehicles has been cut to 8 per cent from 12 per cent earlier.