Import Duties

The government has set a high MSP for soybean, but the near-collapse of the domestic market for oil meal, a key byproduct of soybeans, means farmers may look at alternative crops

The UK's Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) has published its initial findings that a countervailing or anti-subsidy measure on the imports of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) from India be maintained for a further five years. The proposal, published in a Statement of Essential Facts' this week, follows a review initiated in July last year which concluded that subsidised imports of PET are likely to recur if the measure was no longer applied and that injury to UK industry would also be likely to recur. The TRA also found that maintaining the measure is in the economic interest of the UK, a statement notes. Countervailing or anti-subsidy measures are the UK's one of three trade policy tools to counter imports which are causing or threatening injury to domestic industry, the other two being anti-dumping and safeguard measures. Countervailing or counteracting measures address imported goods which are being subsidised by foreign governments. The TRA found that while Indian imports of PET

Exporters may soon be eligible for Advance Authorisation benefits even if goods are shipped before licence issue, provided the Bill of Entry is filed after the licence date

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has detected customs duty evasion of over Rs 25 crore by way of undervaluation by luxury car importers, the finance ministry said on Tuesday. As per DRI, high-end Luxury Cars were being imported by resorting to undervaluation to the extent of 50 per cent by mis-declaring the import value at the Indian ports to evade the applicable Customs Duties. These luxury cars would first be transported to Dubai/Sri Lanka from the USA/Japan, for the purpose of conversion from left to right-hand drive (RHD) and other modifications, before being imported into India by mis-declaring the import value by using fabricated documents. "In the investigation, it was ascertained that more than 30 Luxury Cars, viz models like Hummer EV, Cadillac Escalade, Rolls-Royce, Lexus, Toyota Land Cruiser & Lincoln Navigator, have been imported by using the above modus operandi. The importers involved are based in Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bangalore & Delhi

Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja said that 100% import tariffs create anxiety

India will exempt from import duty 35 items used to make EV batteries and 28 items used in mobile phone manufacturing

The tacit reason for QCOs is to prevent substandard goods from China that many worry are flooding Indian markets

The government on Wednesday imposed import curbs on platinum alloy with less than 99 per cent purity to curb illicit imports of this precious metal blended with significant amounts of gold. Importers of such platinum alloys are now required to obtain import authorisation from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) for the inbound shipments. The decision follows cases where this alloy blended with significant amounts of gold was imported to exploit the tariff differential between gold and platinum. "Import policy of platinum...is revised from free to restricted except for platinum alloy of 99 per cent or more purity by weight of platinum," the DGFT said in a notification. To ensure a smooth supply of platinum for jewellery manufacturing and industrial use, the government allows the unrestricted import of platinum alloy with 99 per cent or higher purity of platinum. Economic think tank GTRI last year sought urgent review of India-UAE trade, the pact stating that the agreeme

Tesla has advertised job openings on LinkedIn for 13 positions across vehicle service, sales, customer support, operations, and business development

Jindal Stainless' managing director Abhyuday Jindal on Thursday pressed for a duty of up to 25 per cent for imports to protect domestic manufacturers against a possible dumping of goods into the country. US President Donald Trump's decision to impose a 25 per cent import tax on steel and aluminum will be beneficial for the domestic industry, he said, explaining that such a tariff has been slapped on India since Trump's first term and the latest move will create a level playing field. However, the US move may lead to products from across the world reaching India, which continues to be a growing market, he said. "If other markets are all getting closed, then they will come to India because India is growing. There is only a basic 7.5 per cent customs duty which is not enough," Jindal told reporters on the sidelines of an event here. "We need some kind of support from the government, some kind of protection, some support to Indian manufacturers needs to be given," he added. The indust

Gold smuggling has reduced significantly since July 2024 when the government slashed import duty on the precious metal to 6 per cent, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) Chairman Sanjay Kumar Agarwal said. As per the latest available data, Customs and DRI officers seized 847 kg of gold worth Rs 544 crore at various airports in the April-June period of the current fiscal. In July, the government reduced customs duty on gold to 6 per cent from 15 per cent. "After the rate of duty was reduced on gold in the last year's budget, there is a significant reduction in the smuggling of gold," Agarwal told PTI in an interview. Although Agarwal did not reveal the quantum or value of gold seizures, he said authorities are keeping regular watch over the international passenger traffic, porous borders, and commercial cargoes coming into the country to cut the smuggling of narcotics through any route. Smuggling is the secret movement of goods across national borders to avoid custom

India has initiated a countervailing duty probe into increased imports of a chemical - Calcium Carbonate Filler Masterbatch - used in the plastic industry, from Vietnam following a complaint from domestic players. The move is aimed at guarding domestic manufacturers from the increase in imports that are subsidised by Vietnam. The investigation has been initiated by the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), an arm of the commerce ministry. Compounds and Masterbatch Manufacturers Association of India and Masterbatch Manufacturers Association have filed a petition before the directorate on behalf of the domestic industry for initiation of the probe on the chemical exported from Vietnam into India. The DGTR in a notification has said that the applicants have alleged that the product is being imported into India from Vietnam at subsidized prices in significant quantities for a prolonged period, causing material injury to it. They have requested for imposition of countervailing

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

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

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 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

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 ...

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

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

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