UNION Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present Modi Government’s eighth Budget on February 1 amid the COVID-19 pandemic and under the unprecedented economic crisis triggered by it. This time, the Central Government may increase the Customs Duty on certain components, sources told ANI on Wednesday.

 

According to the sources, to boost the ‘Make in India’ initiative, the Centre is considering increasing Customs Duty on certain parts of various components. Sources added, discussion on various proposals are still going on, but no final decision had been taken yet.

 

Last year while presenting her second Budget, Sitharaman had announced Customs Duty hike on a range of items including toys, furniture, electronic goods, footwear, freezers, refrigerating equipments, grinders and mixers, headphones and earphones, colour TV and chargers.

 

Announcing the hike on February 1, 2020, Sitharaman had said that Centre’s policy of Make in India has started giving dividends.

 

Talking to ANI, Rajat Bose, Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Company said that trend has been that the Central Government usually in the last four-five years is increasing the Customs Duty on certain items. “So, I think that it will be there at the back of mind of the Government. I believe that they would still continue to increase Customs Duty on raw material components. They might look at sectors such as automobile, consumer electronics and fast moving consumer goods,”Bose added.