Solar panels, footwear, stoves to cost less in Karnataka

Bengaluru, March 13: Mobile phone chargers, footwear, wick stoves, mats, industrial cables and solar panels will become cheaper in Karnataka from April onwards.

The relief to consumers and industrial users came as the state budget for the ensuing fiscal (2015-16) on Friday proposed to reduce or exempt value added tax (VAT) on them.

"I propose to exempt footwear costing up to Rs.500 per pair and hand-made products like floor mats, table mats, runners and utility bags made of banana fibre from value added tax (VAT) and reduce it (VAT) on mobile phone chargers and wick stoves to 5.5 percent from 14.5 percent," Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said here while presenting the budget.

The reduction on wick stoves will benefit the poorer sections of society which use kerosene as fuel.

To promote solar energy generation in the state, the chief minister has proposed to exempt certain solar photo voltaic panels and solar inverters from VAT.

Paddy, rice, wheat, pulses and their products will continue to be exempted in the new fiscal.

In a relief to small traders, the registration limit has been increased to Rs.10 lakh from Rs.7.5 lakh.

VAT on manufactured sand and its machinery or equipment will be reduced to 5.5 percent to encourage setting up of units as a viable alternative to mining sand from the riverbed.

"VAT on industrial cables such as high voltage cables, jelly filled cables, optical fibre cables, XLPE (cross-linked polyethylene) insulated cables and PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) insulated cables will be reduced to 5.5 percent, conceding the long pending request from the electrical industry," he said during his 90-minute budget presentation.

The chief minister, who spoke in Kannada, also proposed to reduce the age criteria for senior citizens to 60 years from 65 years to extend exemption benefits on paying profession tax. He also extended the exemption benefits to employees drawing a salary of Rs.15,000 as against the present limit of Rs.10,000 per month.

The replanting allowance has been increased to Rs.2,050 from Rs.900 per tonne coffee produced in view of the escalation in replantation expenditure incurred by coffee planters.