Feb 02, 2023
With promotion of exports and enhancement of
domestic manufacturing in focus, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on
Wednesday announced a rejig in custom duties on various commodities and
products.
The concessional duty on the import of lithium-ion batteries has been extended
for a year.
The customs duties on dore and bars of gold and platinum were increased earlier
this fiscal. FM proposed to increase the duties on articles made therefrom to
enhance the duty differential. "I also propose to increase the import duty
on silver dore, bars and articles to align them with that on gold and platinum,"
she said.
The basic customs duty rate on compounded rubber will be increased from 10% to
25% or Rs 30/kg, whichever is lower, on par with that on natural rubber other
than latex, to curb circumvention of duty.
Jan 17, 2023
The government has exempted customs duty on
imports of Covid-19 vaccines till March 31, 2023 in a bid to ensure domestic
availability amid fears of a surge in coronavirus infections. In a
notification, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) said Covid
vaccines, when imported into India by central government or state governments,
would be exempt from the whole of customs duty from January 14, 2023 till March
31, 2023.
The government had, in April 2021, first exempted Covid-19 vaccines from 10 per
cent customs duty. The exemption was extended several times till June 2022.
With new variants causing significant rise in daily case load in certain
countries, including neighbouring China, the government had re-introduced
certain precautionary measures, like random passenger testing at airports and
genome sequencing, to check Covid spread in India.
Jan 12, 2023
The CBIC on Wednesday came out with a mechanism
to check the undervaluation of imported goods under which two committees
comprising tax officers will be set up for screening and evaluation.
The CBIC has notified the Customs (Assistance in Value Declaration of
Identified Imported Goods) Rules, 2023, which will come into effect from
February 11.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) will come out with a
list of 'identified goods', which will be subject to stricter scrutiny for
their true value.
As per the rules, two committees will be constituted -- a screening committee
for a preliminary examination of 'identified goods' and an evaluation committee
for a detailed examination.
Jan 12, 2023
The government on Wednesday notified new rules
to address the menace of undervalued imports, proposed in the Budget, which
will kick in on February 11 and could help raise revenue marginally.
The Customs (Assistance in Value Declaration of Identified Imported Goods)
Rules, 2023 will identify a list of goods where there is reason to believe the
value may not be declared truthfully or accurately and the importer would have
to undertake additional obligations in this regard. The Central Board of
Indirect Taxes and Customs can specify such goods, which would be examined by a
screening committee and later by an evaluation committee. “The written
reference must have been made to the board which, if found suitable by
screening committee for detailed examination, must have been comprehensively
examined by evaluation committee which should have concluded the likelihood
that the value of the relevant class of goods may not be declared truthfully
…,” said the CBIC in a circular, adding that if satisfied, the board may then
specify the identified goods
Dec 26, 2022
With the India-Australia interim trade deal set
to kick off later this month, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs
has notified the Rules of Origin. The notification, which relates to the
eligibility requirement to claim the preferential customs duty on trade in goods,
under the economic cooperation and trade agreement (ECTA), will come into
effect from December 29. This is when the ECTA will also come into effect.
RoAs specify the threshold for value addition in the country concerned to
qualify for the tax concessions under the FTA, so that the benefits are not
misused by firms based in other countries.
Dec 19, 2022
The Centre may hike the duties on imports of
"non-essential items" ahead of growing concerns around a slowdown in
exports and a widening trade deficit. Several ministries are in the process of
shortlisting the commodities for duty hikes, as reported by the Indian Express
(IE). The list will reportedly be restricted to only the commodities that have
"enough manufacturing capacity" in the country.
"We are looking at non-essential imports for which there is enough
manufacturing capacity. It is to identify non-essential items, where there is
sufficient production capacity and allow for higher import substitution,"
an official told IE.
Dec 09, 2022
Importers will have to furnish additional
information at Customs Automated System and while filing a bill of entry in
case of "specified goods"
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has released the draft
rules pertaining to the Customs Valuation of imported goods, which will
effectively implement the amendment proposed in Section 14 of the Customs Act
which deals with the valuation of imported goods.
Sep 02, 2022
The finance ministry has extended concessional
customs duty on edible oil imports by another 6 months till March 2023, a move
aimed at increasing domestic supply and keeping prices under control.
In a notification, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) said
the existing concessional import duties on specified edible oils will be
extended up to March 31, 2023