Overview
- Tobacco products and pan masala face higher levies from February 1, including added excise and cesses, alongside a shift to machine‑capacity‑based duty for chewing tobacco, gutkha and jarda.
- New FASTag rules remove routine Know Your Vehicle checks for cars, with issuing banks verifying details via the VAHAN database and KYV required only in complaint‑driven cases for existing tags.
- Oil marketing companies raised the 19‑kg commercial LPG cylinder price by about ₹49–50 to ₹1,740.50 in Delhi, while keeping domestic LPG rates unchanged.
- Retail fuel benchmarks were left steady at the start of the month, with petrol and diesel prices unchanged in Delhi and CNG quoted near ₹76 per kg.
- NSE and BSE are operating normal hours on Budget Day, with traders bracing for intraday swings during the finance minister’s speech.