Indirect tax relaxations restore targeted excise and customs concessions affecting tobacco, paper, machinery, medical appliances and raw materials.
The Finance Minister announced targeted excise and customs relaxations: reduced excise on hand rolled cheroots and waste paper; extension of excise exemption for scented supari and corrugated cartons from corrugated paper; expansion of packing material relief for small scale units; clarification and extension of retail price based excise to earthmoving machinery components; customs exemptions for tunnel boring machine parts and specified optical disc drive components; concessions for ostomy appliances and certain drugs; removal of special CVD on acetate rayon tow; full duty exemption for flax fibre and yarn; reduction in duty on stainless steel scrap; and adjustments to export duty settings for raw cotton and iron ore.

Tax incentives broadened to include new hospital and slum redevelopment projects; LLP conversion rules treat share cost as pre-conversion cost.
Amendments add specified businesses qualifying for statutory treatment to include building and operating new hospitals meeting a minimum bed threshold and developing housing projects under government slum redevelopment or rehabilitation schemes notified under prescribed guidelines; modify clause structure to add corresponding subclauses. They treat transfers of shares in a company in the context of conversion to a limited liability partnership as within scope and deem the cost of acquisition on conversion to be the cost of the pre-conversion share or partner rights. Separate changes amend the Customs Tariff entry, expand the definition of passenger for air travel, and extend references to include input services.

Goods and Services Tax proposed with central compensation mechanism to states, aligning common thresholds and exemptions.
The Government proposes fiscal consolidation together with targeted measures to moderate inflation and secure food availability, including zero duty imports, export restrictions, stock limits, and PDS subsidies; monetary policy has been tightened to anchor expectations. Concurrently, comprehensive tax reform is advanced through consultation on the Direct Taxes Code and a planned introduction of the Goods and Services Tax with a State compensation mechanism conditional on agreed common thresholds, exemptions and deviation controls.

Foreign direct investment approvals securing equity inductions, transfers and JV formations across multiple sectors following FIPB review.
Government approved 18 FDI proposals totaling approximately Rs. 344.33 crore, comprising equity inductions, share transfers and acquisitions, joint ventures, wholly owned subsidiaries, franchise/licence arrangements for single brand retail, share issuances including share swaps and ex post approvals, and amendments or waivers to prior foreign collaboration approvals; several approvals were noted to attract Press Note 1 of 2005.

SEZ formal approvals and co developer recognitions expand authorised zone projects and enable infrastructure and sectoral development.
The Board of Approval authorised six formal SEZ project approvals across sectors including biotechnology, airport-based operations, solar and copper activities, and approved multiple co-developer recognitions for IT/ITES and multi-product SEZ projects, designating specific private and cooperative entities as authorised co-developers to participate in development and infrastructure provision under the SEZ regulatory framework.