Automobile Industry heaves a sigh of relief

There were no surprises for the automobile industry in the Union budget. With the implementation of Goods and Services Tax or GST expected to be implement by July this year, the union finance minister Arun Jaitley has kept the excise duty structure unchanged. This has come as no surprise to the industry and vehicle prices are unlikely to see any price revisions, due to the budget proposals. The push on rural areas and reducing the tax burden of individual with an income of Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh is seen as a big positive for the prospective small car, two wheeler and tractor buyers and a big spike in infrastructure spend is expected to spur the buying in the commercial vehicle space, which has been volatile off late. Much like the previous budgets, the FM continues to tax the rich, which may have an impact on the luxury car market for a short term, say experts.