BEAUTY AND OTHER SERVICES

More services are under the service tax net of an additional five per cent:
Laundry, beauty parlours, fashion designing, railway ticketing agents, cable TV and health clubs / fitness centres.
But, there is a special 16 per cent special excise on aerated drinks and CENVAT (central government value added tax), so since you won’t be guzzling that much, you won’t need your health club anyway - maybe that was the rationale behind this!
Sugar is also due to see a price rise, and confectionary goods will also feel the wave of the government’s levy wand, so on the whole, you’ll munch fewer of those sweet treats. See how concerned the government is about your health?
Excise rates have been reduced on sham-poos, deodorants, hair oils/gels, toiletries, skin care creams, bath preparations and talcs.
Import duties on life-saving drugs for AIDS/HIV, cancer and diabetes will either be rationalised or abolished. But thanks to patent-related rulings by the World Trade Organisation, MNCs will probably be hiking prices of their medical products soon.
TRAVEL TRICKS
Hotels have been spared from the service tax net, and expenditure tax will be applicable only on rooms with a tariff rate of over Rs 3,000, the benefits of a cheaper holiday have been snatched away by the rail budget which is hiking fares. For those who only travel by air, the cost of aviation fuel and the rates for importing aircraft have dropped, so you may see some savings there.