New Delhi: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who quit smoking pipe several years ago, has spared the tobacco industry - a prime source of raising revenue for the exchequer - by not raising excise duty on cigarettes in the budget proposals for 2011-12.

This is the first time in many budgets that excise duty on cigarettes has not been hiked.

The cheer in the industry was evident on Monday, with ITC, the largest manufacturer of cigarettes in the country, seeing its shares soaring 8.33 percent to an intra-day high of Rs.170 at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

Over 41 lakh shares of the company were traded on the BSE, as compared to a two-week average of 5.5 lakh shares.

Items like cigarettes and cigars attract a basic excise duty of 10 percent and an additional excise duty of 1.6 percent.

Meanwhile, Stationery items widely used by school children, text books, branded ready-made garments and jewellery, treatment in private hospitals, air travel and lawyer fees will become costlier following the tax proposals in 2011-12 Budget.

The proposals made by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee also mean that ready-to-eat food items, such as ketchups, soups, 'mudis' (puffed rice), coffee and tea mixes, flavoured milk, supari will be dearer as they will now attract higher excise duty.

The Budget has, however, made some items, including raw materials for syringe and needles, mobile parts and accessories like hands free headphones, incense sticks, sanitary nakpins and diapers, cheaper by reducing taxes.

According to the budgetary proposals, notebooks and exercise books, which were earlier exempted from excise duty will now attract one per cent duty without CENVAT credit facility. Moreover, a general effective rate of five per cent has been prescribed for these items and facilities.

Similarly, fountain pen ink, ball pen ink, geometry boxes, colour boxes and pencil sharpeners will also now attract a similar levy.

Educational text books are also expected to become costlier as paper used in printing them will no longer be exempted from excise duty.

Vaccines, other than those included in National Immunisation Programme, will also register an increase as they will attract a concessional duty of one per cent without CENVAT credit facility.

Branded readymade garments will also become expensive as they will attract 10 per cent excise duty. Labelled jewellery will burn a deeper hole in the pockets as they will now attract one per cent excise duty.

With the Finance Minister proposing changes in service tax band, treatment in air-conditioned private hospitals, air travel and lawyer fees will cost more henceforth.

The government has proposed to put all forms of payments - by individuals, insurance firms and business houses, for treatment in private hospitals with more that 25 beds and air-conditioning facility under the service tax net resulting in an effective tax of five per cent.

Here's another expansion of the list:

To be cheaper:
* Mobile Phones
* Refrigerators
* Home Loans
* Cement
* Printers
* Paper
* Diapers & Sanitary Napkins
* Homeopathic Medicines
* Soap
* Steel
* Yarn/Raw Silk
* LED Lights
* Battery Driven Vehicles
* Agriculture Machinery

To cost more:
* Healthcare in top-end private hospitals
* Branded Clothes
* Gold
* Air Travel
* A/C Restaurants Serving Liquor
* Hotel Services