A list of non-essential items on govt's radar

The govt is considering raising duties on non-essential items

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.

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.