Union Budget 2026: What gets cheaper and costlier

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday announced in Union Budget 2026-27 that select outward remittances will get cheaper with Tax Collected at Source (TCS) on overseas tour packages and education and medical remittances cut to 2 per cent. 

Earlier, overseas tour packages used to attract TCS at 5–20 per cent, while overseas education and medical remittances (LRS) were taxed 5 per cent at source.

The Budget 2026-27 cuts or exempts basic customs duties (BCD) and transaction charges on several items, including energy‑transition equipment, solar glass inputs, capital goods for critical minerals and lithium‑ion cells, civilian aircraft MRO components, rare and cancer drugs, and certain textile and leather inputs.

Fish caught by Indian fishermen, and nuclear power goods have also been exempted from BCD. On microwave ovens and personal-use imports, BCD has been reduced from 20 per cent to 10 per cent.

Further, the Budget reduced import duties on graphite, quartz, coal, sand, silicon, rare-earth metals and metal oxide. It extended export realisation periods for some textile and leather shipments to one year.

The basic customs duty on makhana and roasted nuts was cut to 30 per cent from 150 per cent, while duties on almonds and walnuts were trimmed. The basic customs duty on seeds and spores for sowing was halved to 15 per cent from 30 per cent. Wet blue leather will enjoy zero import duty.

On petroleum crude, a 5 per cent ad valorem levy was changed to a flat Rs 1 per tonne charge.

Penalties for income tax misreporting were hiked to 100 per cent of the tax amount plus tax and interest. Futures and options trading (F&O) will become more expensive as the securities transaction tax on stock options was raised to 0.15 per cent, and STT on futures trading was increased to 0.05 per cent from 0.02 per cent.

Tax collection at source (TCS) rates were increased from 1 per cent to 2 per cent on alcoholic liquor, minerals, and scrap sales. Chewing tobacco products, including zarda and gutkha, saw the National Calamity Contingent Duty (NCCD) rise to 60 per cent from 25 per cent.

Budget rests on three pillars -- faster growth, inclusive development and structural reform, the Finance Minister said, adding that its broader "sankalp" remains centred on the poor and disadvantaged.

Picture Courtesy: IANS