Budget 2018: Revenue department failed to rationalise duty rates

A highly retrograde measure has been proposed in the Section 125 of the Customs Act

The Budget of 2018-19 had given ample opportunity to the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance to rationalise the customs duty structure because the other taxes namely excise duty and service tax were not changed this time since they are a part of Goods and Services Tax (GST).  The bureaucracy in the Department of Revenue had ample time before the Budget to devote their energy to bring about rationality in the structure of the customs duty.  But what they have done is simply to increase and decrease some duties on specific items. They did not even realise that the customs