Import Duties

The tacit reason for QCOs is to prevent substandard goods from China that many worry are flooding Indian markets

The government on Wednesday imposed import curbs on platinum alloy with less than 99 per cent purity to curb illicit imports of this precious metal blended with significant amounts of gold. Importers of such platinum alloys are now required to obtain import authorisation from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) for the inbound shipments. The decision follows cases where this alloy blended with significant amounts of gold was imported to exploit the tariff differential between gold and platinum. "Import policy of platinum...is revised from free to restricted except for platinum alloy of 99 per cent or more purity by weight of platinum," the DGFT said in a notification. To ensure a smooth supply of platinum for jewellery manufacturing and industrial use, the government allows the unrestricted import of platinum alloy with 99 per cent or higher purity of platinum. Economic think tank GTRI last year sought urgent review of India-UAE trade, the pact stating that the agreeme

Tesla has advertised job openings on LinkedIn for 13 positions across vehicle service, sales, customer support, operations, and business development

Jindal Stainless' managing director Abhyuday Jindal on Thursday pressed for a duty of up to 25 per cent for imports to protect domestic manufacturers against a possible dumping of goods into the country. US President Donald Trump's decision to impose a 25 per cent import tax on steel and aluminum will be beneficial for the domestic industry, he said, explaining that such a tariff has been slapped on India since Trump's first term and the latest move will create a level playing field. However, the US move may lead to products from across the world reaching India, which continues to be a growing market, he said. "If other markets are all getting closed, then they will come to India because India is growing. There is only a basic 7.5 per cent customs duty which is not enough," Jindal told reporters on the sidelines of an event here. "We need some kind of support from the government, some kind of protection, some support to Indian manufacturers needs to be given," he added. The indust

Gold smuggling has reduced significantly since July 2024 when the government slashed import duty on the precious metal to 6 per cent, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) Chairman Sanjay Kumar Agarwal said. As per the latest available data, Customs and DRI officers seized 847 kg of gold worth Rs 544 crore at various airports in the April-June period of the current fiscal. In July, the government reduced customs duty on gold to 6 per cent from 15 per cent. "After the rate of duty was reduced on gold in the last year's budget, there is a significant reduction in the smuggling of gold," Agarwal told PTI in an interview. Although Agarwal did not reveal the quantum or value of gold seizures, he said authorities are keeping regular watch over the international passenger traffic, porous borders, and commercial cargoes coming into the country to cut the smuggling of narcotics through any route. Smuggling is the secret movement of goods across national borders to avoid custom

India has initiated a countervailing duty probe into increased imports of a chemical - Calcium Carbonate Filler Masterbatch - used in the plastic industry, from Vietnam following a complaint from domestic players. The move is aimed at guarding domestic manufacturers from the increase in imports that are subsidised by Vietnam. The investigation has been initiated by the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), an arm of the commerce ministry. Compounds and Masterbatch Manufacturers Association of India and Masterbatch Manufacturers Association have filed a petition before the directorate on behalf of the domestic industry for initiation of the probe on the chemical exported from Vietnam into India. The DGTR in a notification has said that the applicants have alleged that the product is being imported into India from Vietnam at subsidized prices in significant quantities for a prolonged period, causing material injury to it. They have requested for imposition of countervailing

There are three perfectly timed triggers for this week's column: Old, povertarian instincts are back; the steel industry lobbying for more import duties; and the absence of reformers like A D Shroff

Volkswagen bypassed the 35 per cent duty imposed on Completely Knocked-Down (CKD) units by misclassifying components as individual parts, according to Indian tax authorities

One cannot escape anti-dumping duty by filing advance bill of entry if the anti-dumping notification is issued before grant of entry inward for the vessel

Vedanta and some smaller firms turn nickel ores imported primarily from Australia, Indonesia and Turkey into nickel sulphate before shipping it to South Korea, Japan and other countries

The WTO's dispute settlement body has accepted a request from India and Chinese Taipei not to adopt the ruling against New Delhi's import duties on certain information and technology products till October-end, as both sides are engaged in resolving the matter mutually, an official said. The issue came up during a meeting of the dispute settlement body (DSB) in Geneva on July 26. "The DSB agreed to the latest requests from Chinese Taipei and India," the Geneva-based official said. At the July 26 meeting, India and Chinese Taipei once again requested additional time from the DSB to consider the adoption of the panel rulings in the case initiated by Chinese Taipei regarding India's tariffs on certain high-tech goods. The two sides had asked that the DSB further delay consideration of the panel reports until October 28, 2024, to help facilitate the resolution of the disputes. The dispute body had earlier agreed to four previous such requests from India and Chinese Taipei to delay ...

The US industry body Cotton Council International on Tuesday asked the government to remove 11 per cent import duty on short staple cotton, in a bid to bring down its prices for the benefit of the Indian textile industry. In February, the government had removed the import duty of 10 per cent for cotton with a staple length above 32 millimeters (mm), also known as Extra Long Staple (ELS) cotton. However, the import duty of 11 per cent on imported cotton below staple length of 32 mm remains in effect. On February 1, 2021, the government announced an 11 per cent duty on imported cotton, effective February 2, 2021. The duty comprised of five per cent basic customs duty, five per cent tax, and one per cent social welfare charge. "As US Cotton industry we are here to have a conversation with our partners and to get a better understanding of the challenges and how we can help facilitate a positive change. One of the issues that is a challenge to us is the import duty of about 11 per cent

The move is likely to shield Indian consumers from rising prices, but could discourage local farmers to boost plantings of the crops

The government is not considering any cut in import duty on rubber as of now as the differential between the local and international prices is maintained, a senior official said on Monday. "We have a differential already maintained for the imports that we are getting vis-a-vis the local production. "If you see the local price vis-a-vis international price...so there has been a differential maintained on account of that import duty... So I do not think there is any rethink on reducing import duties as of now," Additional Secretary in the commerce ministry Amardeep Singh Bhatia told reporters here. He was replying to a question about the domestic user industry's demand to cut the duties and that of local producers against any duty reduction. Tyre makers are one of the major consumers of the commodity. Over 13 lakh rubber growers are there in the country. Kerala accounts for a major chunk of the production, which was 8.39 lakh tonne in 2022-23. Consumption during that fiscal was 13.5

This comes just a day before the Centre is scheduled to announce its Interim Budget 2024 in Parliament

A decision on the cuts will be taken by the finance ministry when it finalises the budget, the two people said

Maintaining high import duties on sensitive agri commodities like rice and resisting pressure to open up the domestic sector to low tariffs will be crucial for preserving India's self-sufficiency and ensuring food security for its population, a report said on Monday. Economic think tank GTRI (Global Trade Research Initiative) in its report said that India needs to cut its reliance on imported vegetable oils to promote better health outcomes and also reduce the import bill. This will need educating consumers about the health benefits of using locally produced oils like mustard, groundnut, and rice bran in lieu of imported oils. India is the world's largest importer of vegetable oils, with imports estimated to double to USD 20.8 billion in 2023-24 from USD 10.8 billion in 2017-18. It added that the US and EU currently support agriculture by using the latest technology to maximise output, high tariffs (or import duties) to discourage imports and massive subsidies to push ...

According to WTO rules, a WTO member or members can file a case in the Geneva-based multilateral body if they feel that a particular trade measure is against the norms of WTO

However, the Centre reiterated that the move to slash import duty on apples from the US would have no "negative" impact on the growers

India has removed additional duties on about half a dozen US products, including chickpeas, lentils and apples, which were imposed in 2019 in response to America's decision to increase tariffs on certain steel and aluminium products. India had imposed these duties on 28 US products in 2019 in retaliation to the US' move. The finance ministry through a notification dated September 5 informed about removal of duties on the products, including chickpeas, lentils (masur), apples, walnut in shell and almonds fresh or dried, as well as almond shelled. The move comes ahead of US President Joe Biden's visit to India to attend the G20 Summit on September 9-10, which would be preceded by a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday. During the prime minister's state visit to the US in June, both countries decided to terminate six WTO (World Trade Organization) disputes and also remove the retaliatory tariffs on certain US products. As part of the agreement, India will be