Union Budget 2022: 10 things consumers should know

NEW DELHI: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2022 on Tuesday, which has been hailed as growth oriented and panned for not giving relief to the salaried or middle-class.

Here are 10 things consumers should know:
1. Adorning yourself with precious diamonds and gemstones is set to become relatively cheaper with customs duty on cut and pol ished diamonds and gemstones falling from 7.5% to 5%. A half-carat solitaire diamond ring costing Rs 1,30,000 will get you a saving of up to Rs 2,500.

2. Wearing imported imitation jewellery will get more expensive with increase in customs duty to 20% or Rs 400/kg, whichever is higher. Imported imitation jewellery set bought from Goa flea market weighing around a kg and costing Rs 1,000 could now be more expensive by Rs 250


3. Be ready to shell out more on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. 250gm of Tassyam Turk ish hazelnuts may now cost approximately Rs 515 instead of Rs 449 due to increase in customs duty on imported hazelnuts from 10% to 30%

4. Protecting yourself from the sun and rain using an imported umbrella will pinch the pocket with customs duty increasing from 10% to 20%. Loyzo imported umbrella, which was earlier priced at Rs 1,199, may now be available for more than Rs 1,29

5. Gourmet food connoisseurs have reasons to be glum as customs duty on Atlantic salmon has increased from 10% to 30%, becoming dearer by almost Rs 265 on a cost of Rs 1,795 for 450gm

6. Stay warm this winter as duty on imported blankets has fallen from 25% to 10%. So, a Westinghouse electric blanket will cost Rs 500 less at Rs 7,00.

7. Customs duty on imported handkerchiefs has reduced from 25% to 20%. A pack of im ported Peter England’s handkerchiefs (Rs 249) could now be cheaper by Rs 35

8. Listening to music and podcasts will come at a higher price tag with customs duty on headphones set to increase from 15% to 20%. AKG Y500 headphones currently costing Rs 8,999 could now set you back by Rs 9,314

9. Cook up a storm as duty on asafoetida (hing) reduced from 20% to 5%. Afghan hing (Rs 495 for 10gm) will be cheaper by Rs 50

10. Winter dressing will cost less as the customs duty on imported overcoats falls from 25% to 20%. A Zara over-coat costing Rs 7,990 can now be had for 7,740

Methodology: We have taken the retail price of popular brands, factored in a tentative distributors margin and then computed the indicative cost of imported goods considering the impact of Budget announcements.