Govt may hike tariff on imports that escaped higher duties last year

Move ordered by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, is aimed at boosting domestic manufacturing

From relatively big ticket items such as air conditioners and colour television sets, to set top boxes, cashews, vehicle tyres and organic chemicals, the government is looking to pile on tariffs on all imports that escaped higher duties last year. 

India’s overall import bill was $514 billion in 2018-19, up 11 per cent from the previous year. 

As fears of runaway imports plagued policymakers last year, duties on inbound goods were raised as many as six times. This was followed by a duty hike imposed on 29 primarily high-value agricultural imports from the US earlier this year.

The latest move