Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday, February 1, in the 2026 Union Budget presentation, proposed changes in duty cuts, making some items cheaper and some costlier. Like previous years, the minister has proposed an increase in taxes on sin goods.
List of items that become cheaper, costlier
As a result of changes in taxes, some items become cheaper due to tax reductions, while others could see price hikes.
Items that become cheaper
- 17 cancer drugs
- Seafood
- Leather products
- Smartphones
- EV batteries
- Solar panels
- Microwave ovens
- Sports equipment
- Consumer electronics products imported for personal use
- Overseas tourism packages
- Foreign education
Items that become costlier
- Alcohol
- Tobacco products like cigarettes and pan masala
- E-book readers
- CD-ROMs
- Digital cameras
- Video games and software
- Umbrellas
- Coffee
- Adult diapers
- Stock options and futures trading
Nifty tumbles as Budget proposes to raise STT
Meanwhile, stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled on Sunday afternoon trade after the Budget proposed raising the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) to 0.05 per cent on commodity futures from 0.02 per cent.
The government will tax buyback proceeds for all types of shareholders as capital gains, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Sunday.
After fluctuating in early trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex later bounced back but pared all gains amid the Budget presentation.
