Come Budget-time, and the media is rife with rumours about which taxes will be raised or lowered, and the direction in which the government might make fresh public investment.

This year is no different – although the corporate sector seems to be a little more relaxed than it has usually been in the past on Budget eve.

It's not only the various industry lobbies that push their demands on the government through the media. The government too does some kite flying, to see how the public (or sections of industry) might react to plans on the anvil.

Sometimes very few of the rumours turn out to be true. They end up as nothing but wishful thinking, or statements of a utopian dream.

But which of the rumours will turn out to be true and which will be falsified this time?

We'll never know, will we, until Budget day?

We thought it might be an interesting exercise to list the various rumours and speculations on government plans, along with industry demands floating around, and then see how they actually fare on budget day. Catch the score on 29 February 2008!

Watch this space for the expectations with regard to Indirect Taxes, and we'll keep adding to it as and when new ideas are floated. Those doing the rounds till now, are listed below:

• Excise duty is likely to remain unchanged at 16 per cent, with the finance ministry neither planning a hike nor a reduction.
• The government may revise the method of calculation of excise duty on cement. This is expected to result in lower payouts. It is also expected to waive the import duty on coal and pet coke, both of which are key inputs in production process of cement.
• Indirect taxes on consumer goods are likely to be moderated to stimulate consumption.
• Imported set top boxes could attract customs duty of 5 per cent, in order to encourage domestic goods.
• Duties on consumer electronics may be reduced to 12 per cent from 16 per cent.
• Oil companies are seeking a review on the customs and excise duty structure on oil and oil products.
• The Information Technology ministry has sought duty cuts on electronics and IT goods used by the hardware and software industry. A reduction of excise duty from 16 per cent to 12 per cent is expected.