Eat, drink, go shopping but don't smoke

COMMON MAN'S PERSPECTIVE

Go gorge on pasta. It will cost less. Buy a small car, prices are already slashed and chances are that petrol prices will remain unchanged.

If ever there was a time for good things in life, it's now. As the finance minister has refrained from taxing individuals, you may choose to loosen your purse strings and shop.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram has trimmed duties""both customs and excise for a host of products ranging from automobiles to footwear. Car makers have already started announcing price cut and it is a matter of time before other manufacturers lower their prices making many of these products cheaper.

In other words, they should pass on the impact of the lower excise duties to consumers. Maruti has already announced price cuts for its five models""Maruti 800, Alto, WagonR, Omni and Zen by Rs 12,000 to Rs 22,000 per car.

Those of you who have been waiting to buy a car, this is the time. Don't worry about petrol prices.

The icing on the cake is that fuel prices are likely to remain where they are, since the Finance Minister has said that there would be no impact on the retail prices of petroleum products. It's the oil producing companies that will be picking up the tab for the 39 per cent increase in the cess on domestically produced crude. So tank up and go on that drive.

The Budget's good for homebirds too. Enjoy the pleasure of cooking on a brand new cooking stove.

The concessional excise duty of 8 per cent on stoves has been extended to stoves that cost more than even Rs 2,000. And if you're not in a mood to cook, go for ready-to-eat packaged food and instant food mixes for idlis and dosas, which again should become cheaper as duties have been reduced by half""from 16 per cent to 8 per cent.

If you have a liking for pasta, rejoice: Excise duties have been removed completely. And condensed milk too is duty free. Get ready to beat the summer heat with ice cream on which duties are now zero and aerated drinks, which too would cost less.

However, if you want to show off some brand new glassware at your next party, you're going to have to cough up some more because glassware now attracts 16 per cent duty at par with ceramic ware and plastic ware.

If you're looking for entertainment, it just got cheaper, thanks to excise duty exemptions on DVD drives and combo drives. Prices on computers, however, could change since a 12 per cent excise duty has been re-imposed.

You can also buy yourself a new pair of shoes and pay less for a more expensive pair. Excise duties on shoes that cost between Rs 250-Rs 750 have been brought down from 16 per cent to 8 per cent.

Save on your power bills with energy-saving lamps duties on which have come down from 16 per cent to 8 per cent. Life saving drugs should become more affordable, thanks to lower customs duties. Ditto about some anti-aids and anti-cancer drugs.

Look after your health and smoke less: cigarette prices should be going up because excise duties have been increased by 5 per cent.