Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharama in the Union Budget for 2023-24 on Wednesday proposed to revise and increase the duty on cigarettes to about 16 per cent.
This move from Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal is aimed at reducing the country's dependence on imports and bolster domestic manufacturing
"As discussions are going on between India and the US for a proposed trade package, the commerce ministry has asked its finance counterpart to again defer the implementation of the notification till March 2," the official said.
While the immediate impact may be limited, a rise in competition in export markets could lead to increased supply & price cuts domestically.
The government may hike import duty on both gold and silver going forward. Reacting to the centre‘s likely steps, S Subramaniam, CFO of Titan believes that arbitrage opportunities will increase.
Nilesh Parikh of Shree Ganesh Jewellery told CNBC-TV18 that the hike in the gold import duty to 8 percent will not only have a large impact on manufacturers but also increase disparity between domestic and international prices.