Gujarat Budget: Tax Relief, Higher Spend On Infra, Renewables

To stimulate the economy, a 23.2 per cent increase in capital expenditure provision, amounting to Rs 134,206 crore, has been proposed by State Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai.

Stamp Duty

Stamp duty for documents related to inheritance of property by daughters will now be reduced to a nominal fee of Rs 200, instead of the current 4.9 per cent. For loans of up to Rs 1 crore, the stamp duty on mortgage documents has been reduced from a maximum of Rs 25,000 to a maximum of Rs 5,000. This will provide financial relief to housing loan borrowers and small entrepreneurs, the government said.

The 1 per cent stamp duty on leases for periods of less than a year, based on the annual rent amount, will be replaced with a flat fee of Rs 500 for residential properties and Rs 1,000 for commercial properties. Other lease-related charges will also be simplified.

To save time and effort for citizens and small entrepreneurs, e-registration services will soon be available for mortgage documents, mortgage release documents, and lease agreements, eliminating the need to visit sub-registrar offices.

Motor Vehicle Tax

Currently, electric vehicles are subject to a higher tax rate of up to 6 per cent. A rebate of up to 5 per cent will be offered for a year on fully battery-operated vehicles, with a tax rate of 1 per cent being maintained. To simplify the tax structure, a single rate of 6 per cent will be introduced for the 'Maxi' category of passenger vehicles, replacing the current 7 per cent and 12 per cent rates.

Number of GST Taxpayers Increase

Since the introduction of GST in 2017, the number of taxpayers has increased from 5.08 lakh to 12.46 lakh. As of the 2023-24 fiscal year, 99.6 per cent of registered taxpayers have filed their GST returns. The Gujarat model for GST service centres is now being implemented in other states of the country, the state government claimed.

Electricity Duty, EV Batteries

The entire process of applying for electricity duty exemptions and relief will now be available online. On e-battery vehicles, a rebate of up to 5 per cent has been given for a year and the tax rate has been fixed at 1 per cent.

Focus on Women, Youth, Farmers

The Finance Minister, in his budget speech, said the development of Poor, Youth, Food Providers and Women — ​​has also been given central focus in this budget. He also said that assistance for housing to the poor under the PM Gramin Awas Yojana has been increased to Rs 1.70 lakh.

High-Speed Corridors

A dozen new high-speed corridors will be developed, along with a Namoshakti and a Somnath-Dwarka Expressway. A proposal has also been made to build a new airport in Dahod.

The year 2025 will be celebrated as the Urban Development Year to accelerate world-class city development. Besides this, the urban development budget has been increased by 40 per cent. The state government has made a provision of Rs 50,000 crore for the first time for a 'Developed Gujarat Fund'. 

The state government also established the Gujarat State Institution for Transformation (GRIT) based on the working style of NITI Aayog. NITI Aayog has selected four areas to be developed as Growth Hubs, including the Surat Economic Region (SER).

Some 56 schemes have been prepared to develop this area, which will expand industry, tourism, road network, and infrastructure facilities in six districts under SER namely Surat, Bharuch, Valsad, Navsari, Tapi and Dang.

Water Conservation, AI Labs

The state government has decided to start the 'Catch the Rain' campaign in urban areas for water conservation. The insurance cover provided in the Janata Group Accident Insurance Scheme has been doubled, i.e. from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 4 lakh. This insurance cover will benefit more than 4.45 crore people.

In this era of artificial intelligence, AI labs and a conducive ecosystem for startups will be created in seven technical institutions so that the youth of Gujarat can keep pace with the world. The state government has made a provision of Rs 3,600 crore to promote startups. The Finance Minister has increased the loan limit of the Kisan Credit Card to five lakh. He has also promised to provide five lakh new jobs.

Renewables & Textiles

In his budget presentation, the FM has increased the target of renewable energy to 100 gigawatts by 2030. Currently, a 37-gigawatt renewable energy park is being constructed in Kutch. The office of the Commissioner of Services will be started to boost the service sector of the state. Not only this, the policy of the Global Capability Centre has been implemented to create employment.

To help out the textile sector in Gujarat, Rs 2,000 crores has been allocated to provide more assistance to units under the Gujarat Textile Policy.

Desai claimed that Gujarat contributes 8.3 per cent to the country's total GDP, which will rise to over 10 per cent by 2030. With 36 per cent of Gujarat's population still in the youth category, the state hopes it will be able to encash the youth dividend in propelling its growth rate.

Urban Development

To ease urban congestion, five new satellite towns including Sanand will be developed around the state's big cities. At the same time, 69 out of 149 municipalities in the state will be upgraded.

A sum of Rs  2,300 crore has been allocated for facilities of newly formed municipal corporations. While Rs 2,730 crore has been allocated for Metro rail projects in the main cities of the state, another Rs 250 crore for Sardar Patel Sports Enclave and Rs 150 crore to study the case for expanding the Metro rail netrworks. 

Public Debt 

According to the state government's budget documents, the state government's public debt is set to increase to nearly Rs 5 lakh crore over the next two years. The state government's debt at the end of 2023-24 is Rs 3,77,962 crore as per the revised estimate, while it is estimated that the debt amount will reach Rs 4.26 lakh crore at the end of 2024-25 and Rs 4.73 lakh crore at the end of 2025-26.