The government is considering raising duties on non-essential items - from apples to air-conditioners - that have an annual import bill of $1 billion each.
The non-essential items under the government's scanner are air-conditioners (window and wall), cameras (television cameras, digital cameras and video camera recorders), unwrought gold and silver, cashew nuts and rough wooden items. Some items, such as fruits & nuts, engineering items and electronic goods, are included under broader categories of import.
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A list of the items on the government's list:
| Commodity | 2011-2012 (USD Million) | 2012-2013 (USD Million) | %Share | %Growth |
| WINDOW and WALL AIR CONDITIONING MACHINES | 461.58 | 534.65 | 0.1087 | 15.83 |
| TELEVISION CAMERAS, DIGITAL CAMERAS AND VIDEO CAMERA RECORDERS: | 520.05 | 579.39 | 0.1178 | 11.41 |
| NOT DESIGNED TO INCORPORATE A VIDEO DISPLAY OR SCREEN | 233.21 | 592.67 | 0.1205 | 154.14 |
| OTHER, COLOUR TELEVISIONS | 628.14 | 626.72 | 0.1274 | -0.23 |
| OTHER TROPICAL WOOD | 727.45 | 780.63 | 0.1587 | 7.31 |
| CASHEW NUTS FRESH/DRIED IN SHELL | 1,135.75 | 971.64 | 0.1975 | -14.45 |
| OTHER WOOD IN ROUGH | 1,170.64 | 1,249.98 | 0.2541 | 6.78 |
| UNWROUGHT SILVER | 4,390.66 | 1,799.44 | 0.3658 | -59.02 |
| TELEPHONES FOR CELLULAR NETWORKS OR FOR OTHER WIRELESS NETWORKS: | 5,815.89 | 4,745.61 | 0.9647 | -18.4 |
| GOLD OTHER UNWROUGHT FORMS | 53,920.47 | 48,659.62 | 9.8913 | -9.76 |
| FRUITS AND NUTS (Incl. APPLE) | 1, 135.75 | 971.64 | 0.2 | -14.45 |
| ARTIFICIAL RAISINS etc. | 7,516.28 | 8, 646.82 | 1.76 | 15.04 |
| NOTE: List of non-essential imports items based on which the Department of Commerce will take a call to hike import duties, sources said. Some of these items may not show imports of $1 billion. However, part of them is clubbed in other broader categories as well. Like air conditioners are also included in industrial goods category. | ||||
