Import Duties

Return of bad ideas & missing reformers: Steel lobbying and lost reforms

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

Decoded: How Volkswagen Group 'evaded' paying $1.4 billion in tax in India

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

Advance B/E: Duty rate applies on date of grant of entry inwards for vessel

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 urges govt to talk with Japan, S Korea to end nickel sulphate duty

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

WTO accepts India's request to delay import duty dispute ruling till Oct

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 ...

US cotton industry seeks removal of 11% import duty on short staple cotton

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

Govt scraps pulses import tax to curb food inflation amid LS election

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

'Govt not considering any cuts in import duty on rubber as of now'

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

Centre slashes import duty on mobile phone components from 15% to 10%

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

Govt looking to cut import duty on mobile phone components: Report

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

Import duties to open agri sector key to ensure India's food security: GTRI

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 ...

India challenges WTO panel ruling on ICT import duties at appellate body

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

Oppn slams decision to cut import duty on apples from US, Centre defends

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

Apples to lentils: India removes additional duties on certain US products

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

India's foreign trade crosses $800 bn mark in first 6 months of 2023: GTRI

A healthy growth in India's services segments has helped the country's total exports and imports of goods and services to cross the USD 800 billion mark during the first half of 2023, despite a slowdown in global demand, think tank GTRI said in a report on Monday. According to the analysis of the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), exports of goods and services rose by 1.5 per cent to USD 385.4 billion during January-June this year, as against USD 379.5 billion in January-June 2022. Imports, however, dipped by 5.9 per cent to USD 415.5 billion during the six months of this year, as against USD 441.7 billion in January-June 2022. "India's foreign trade (exports and imports of merchandise and services) reached USD 800.9 billion during January-June 2023, exhibiting a decline of 2.5 per cent over the same period last year (January-June 2022), the report said. Standalone, goods exports dipped by 8.1 per cent to USD 218.7 billion, while imports contracted by 8.3 per cent to USD 325.

India to cut import duty on Washington apples to 50% by September end

An import duty of 70% is imposed on Washington apples, which is 20 percentage points more than the 50% import duty applicable for the apples imported from Iran and Turkey

Govt cuts import duty on refined soybean and sunflower oils to 12.5%

Move in contrast with mood in the market

You may soon have to pay more for soaps, detergents, shampoos. Here's why

A new proposal may impose duties on raw material required to produce cleaning products, making them more expensive

India to challenge WTO panel ruling on ICT import duties at appellate body

India will appeal against a ruling of the World Trade Organization's (WTO) trade dispute settlement panel which ruled that the country's import dues on certain information and technology products are inconsistent with the global trade norms, commerce ministry sources said. They said that the ruling will not have any adverse impact on domestic industry. The appeal will be filed by India in the WTO's appellate body, which is the final authority on such trade disputes, they said. The dispute panel of the Geneva-based WTO on Monday said the import duties imposed by India on certain informational and technology products violates global trading norms. The ruling followed a dispute filed by the European Union, Japan and Taiwan against these duties in the WTO. "We will be going for an appeal against the decision and there will be no adverse impact on our industry," the commerce ministry sources added. The EU on April 2, 2019 had challenged the introduction of import duties by India on a

Freeze import duties for next five years; cut customs levy slabs to 5: GTRI

The government should not make any changes in the customs duties for at least five years with a view to promoting domestic manufacturing, economic think tank GTRI said on Wednesday in its pre-Budget recommendations. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) also suggested retaining import duty on components; removal of inverted duty issues; and reduction of customs duty slabs to 5 from 25 at present to avoid confusion and minimise litigation. These suggestions will prepare India adequately to meet the challenging global economic environment, it said. The think tank noted that countries worldwide have turned inwards to brace for the tough global conditions and against this background India should announce a five-year duty freeze. "Any change may upset...production linked incentive scheme (PLI); phased manufacturing programme and other manufacturing initiatives. The government must reduce import duties only when a clear economic case is present," it said. The duty freeze should be