Presenting the General Budget 2011-12 here today, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Finance Minister announced that:

• Full exemption from basic Customs Duty and a concessional rate of Central Excise Duty is proposed to be extended to batteries imported by manufacturers of electric vehicles.

• A concessional Excise Duty of 10% has also been proposed to vehicles based on fuel cell technology.

• The Excise Duty on kits used for conversion of fossil fuel vehicles into hybrid vehicles has also been reduced.

• The Excise Duty on LEDs is proposed to be reduced to 5% and special CVD being fully exempted.

• The basic Customs Duty on solar lantern is proposed to be reduced from 10 to 5%.

• Full exemption from basic Customs Duty has been proposed to crude palm stearin used in manufacturing of laundry soap.

• Full exemption from basic Excise Duty granted to enzyme based preparation for pre-tanning has also been proposed.

Excise duty concessions for clean-energy vehicles and related imports announced, with customs reductions for solar and manufacturing inputs. Targeted indirect tax concessions include full exemption from basic Customs Duty and a concessional Central Excise regime for batteries imported by electric vehicle manufacturers, a concessional excise rate for vehicles based on fuel cell technology, excise relief for hybrid conversion kits, a reduced excise rate and special CVD exemption for LEDs, a reduction in basic Customs Duty on solar lanterns, and full Customs or Excise exemptions for crude palm stearin in soap manufacture and enzyme preparations for pre-tanning.