[Ashok Naik]

Thanks Mr. GTO
Ambulance chasis excise duty rates slashed by over 50%. If only I could get a Scorpio Ambulance and convert it into a full blown SUV for a small price say around 7 lakhs. even a 2 seater SUV would suffice.
Buying an SUV seems a distant dream now.
Atleast the excise duty on SUVs should have come down.

[maddy42]

Budget may have been a damper for some corporates who expected a lot of sops but i believe it was a realistic one.

Concentration on the infrastructure was a good move and should be respected. I hope the states also do the same as we have some states which have beautiful infra while its neighbors dont.

One point i dont get is when is the government going to get out of the act of running businesses? Will there be more disinvestment in sick psus or its just a pipe dream?

More IIT and IIM is welcome but expect more focus on skill development of a highschool drop out. Would help improve his life.

The next two years will tell where we are headed.

Maddy

[stanjohn123]

Originally Posted by GTO

• The basic excise duty on small cars (hatchbacks & sub-4 meter sedans) goes up marginally from 12.36% - 12.5%. Honestly, this won't have any negative impact at all.

This is done only for the sole benefit of the government.Even if the % seems less, this is a very high volume segment.

Originally Posted by GTO

• A minuscule token amount of Rs. 75 crore has been allocated to boost the Electric Vehicle sector.

This is really pathetic. Government should support more so that we encourage EV manufacturers to enter India. Oil prices will rise and we will be in trouble if we still depend solely on IC engines.

Originally Posted by GTO

• The tyre industry has been asking the government to abolish the silly 'inverted duty structure' since ages, and I agree with them. Sadly, nothing in the budget for tyres either. Things are rather ironic as they stand today. Tyres are easily imported into the country as the applicable customs duty they carry is 10% (or less, due to trade agreements with some countries). On the other hand, natural rubber (a crucial raw material) is levied an import duty of 20%! The Government needs to reduce the import duty on natural rubber, and subsequently increase the same on tyres!

The government should probably increase the tax on importing tyres but they definitely should not reduce the tax on importing natural rubber as it is readily available in the country and it's affecting the local rubber prices due to heavy imports.

Originally Posted by GTO

• On the day of the budget, the prices of petrol & diesel went up by 3 bucks a liter.

This was due to the increase in international crude oil prices , don't think it was due to the budget.

Originally Posted by GTO

• GST (Goods & Service Tax) will finally roll out in April 2016. It will be a game-changer. A simplified, reduced tax structure will help the new car market.

We are not sure if they will necessarily reduce tax here , so this can't be counted as good news yet.

Originally Posted by GTO

• An additional 70,000 crore rupees for the infrastructure sector! Commercial vehicle manufacturers have a lot to look forward to.


• 1 lakh kms of new roads will be developed across India, over and above the completion of roads currently undergoing work.

Eager to see how well they utilize this money and build new roads.

Originally Posted by GTO

• The excise duty on ambulance chassis has been slashed from 24% to 12.5%.

Great news. But which manufacturers actually build ambulances in the country other than Maruti ( Omini )?

[Gannu_1]

/OT

Originally Posted by stanjohn123

But which manufacturers actually build ambulances in the country other than Maruti ( Omini )?

Tata (Winger Ambulance), Force Motors (Traveller Ambulance), Eicher. Have seen all of these on the road.

[noopster]

Very nice summary, Rush- succint yet comprehensive.

As a taxpayer and car lover I have a random wishlist for the government and hope that the current regime addresses this in some budget before long:
- Development of comfortable, safe and accessible public transport in ALL Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities on a war footing
- Price parity across all states for personal vehicles and removal of differential road tax (hon'ble SC has already said that this is unfair/unconstitutional)
- Elimination of all old, derelict, street-unsafe vehicles from the road
- Mandatory and non-negotiable safety features on each and every vehicle from the humble 50 cc moped to the lumbering 18 wheelers and huge deterrent fines/suspension of licenses for non-compliance
- Creating dedicated bicycle lanes and pedestrian facilities to encourage eco-friendly commuting.

We need to take a leaf out of Singapore's book. There are actively targeting reducing the number of personal vehicles on the road by creating last mile connectivity through public transport. Maybe it is too ambitious at a national level but it would be great if a couple of cities actively pursued such a plan. The govt on its part needs to encourage and incentivise such plans.

[stanjohn123]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

/OT

Tata (Winger Ambulance), Force Motors (Traveller Ambulance), Eicher. Have seen all of these on the road.

, these vehicles definitely fit the bill.

Originally Posted by poised2drive

Add Chevrolet and Mahindra to the list.

One tavera ambulance on sale in OLX


There are many Bolero ambulances in tribal areas .


And also Scorpio Ambulances but not sure whether they're used in India.

I don't think Bolero and Scorpio qualifies to be an ambulance. I think this was bought as an SUV and then modified to an ambulance later on. Isn't that illegal ?

We need to know what the government qualifies as an ambulance vehicle.

[Seran Manian]

Thanks GTO for giving all that is pertaining to Automobile industry in the current budget in a nut shell. I would not have found them so neatly presented any where else. It was interesting to read and informative too.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by avira_tk

I have to disagree with the OP regarding tyres, coming from a family that depends on rubber for income, the drop in prices has benefitted manufacturers tremendously. The tyre stocks reflect this reality, while planters who sell the rubber get paid about 20% lower than market rates, rubber purchasing industries have been given a VAT waiver. The tyre industry doesn't need any sops

The beauty of Team-BHP!

Many thanks for offering this insight. Corrected in the opening post.

Originally Posted by mroptimist

Does this also mean higher prices of future CBUs like Toyota's Hiace?

If it is true I am not sure how this is a positive step. There is not enough demand for everything to be manufactured or assembled.

I'm a firm believer of the 'If you want to sell it here, BUILD it here' school of thought. India gets nothing from fully-imported products.

[GTO]

Sharing a lovely powerpoint from the Government, thanks to a post from Ottocycle in another thread.

Originally Posted by ottocycle

Very nice summary. Btw Govt has prepared a sleek looking presentation as well on the budget and it can be accessed here