Customs duty on footwear, furniture increased

The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday proposed to raise customs duty on items like footwear and furniture in her Budget speech.

The customs duty on footwear is proposed to be raised from 25 per cent to 35 per cent, from 15 per cent to 20 per cent on parts of footwear, and from 20 per cent to 25 per cent on the furniture.

"Special attention has been given to put measured restraint on import of those items which are being produced by our micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with better quality," said the minister, while presenting the Union Budget 2020-21 in Parliament today.

She further stressed that labour-intensive sectors in MSMEs are critical for employment generation. Cheap and low-quality imports are an impediment to their growth.

The Finance Minister further proposed to impose a nominal health cess at the rate of 5 per cent, by way of a duty of customs, on the imports of medical equipment keeping in view that these goods are now being significantly made in India.

"The proceeds from this cess shall be used for creating the infrastructure for health services in the aspirational districts," Sitharaman said.