New Delhi, April 30: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday announced changes in tax proposals that will benefit coffee growers, new hospitals and construction sector.
Finance Minister also made clear that service tax on domestic travellers would be Rs 100 per domestic journey and a maximum of Rs 500 for international travel
Mukherjee announced these concessions that would cost the exchequer Rs 300-400 crore a year but did not touch the demand for rolling back the hike in petroleum and fertiliser prices on which the entire opposition walked out before Lok Sabha passed the Finance Bill, 2010.
Explaining the reasons for his inability to concede the opposition’s demand, he said the financial position was such that oil marketing companies faced an under recovery of Rs 85,000 crore this year apart from heavy outgo on account of subsidies, interest and other payments.
—Agencies