Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharama declares in her Union Budget 2021-22 the imposing of 100% Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess (AIDC) on alcohol, 35% on apples, 5% on cotton, and 2.5% cess on gold and silver.
The move, according to the Finance Minister, is to benefit farmers. Customs duty is raised on cotton from zero to 10%. On raw silk, it has been raised to 10% and on silk yarn, to 15%.
At present, the Finance Ministry is regulating the rates in a uniform manner to 15% on rice bran oil cake, maize bran, and animal feed additives, as per a statement by the government.
The government has also decided to withdraw end-use based cess on denatured ethyl alcohol.
First published on: 01 Feb 2021, 16:09 IST
