Page 3 - Customs Duty

Customs announces relief for international travelers' stuck duty payments

The Customs department has introduced refund guidelines for payments that were initially successful but ultimately failed due to any errors

Budget: Govt could cut customs duty on raw materials to boost manufacturing

The government could reduce customs duty on inputs used in manufacturing medical equipment, electronic goods and footwear industries in the forthcoming Budget to boost local manufacturing, according to tax experts. Deloitte India Partner, Indirect Tax, Harpreet Singh said key demands from the Customs side from the 2025-26 Budget, to be tabled in Parliament on February 1, would be rate rationalisation, simplification of the regime, and litigation and dispute management. "In the lines of the phased manufacturing plan, we expect some duty cuts in raw materials in electronics, home appliances, healthcare products, and pharmaceuticals. These are the industries where the government wants to give impetus in terms of manufacturing, and hence, we will see the raw materials declining in these sectors," Singh told PTI. On the proposed Customs duty rationalisation announced in the Budget in July 2024, Singh said the sectors which could see rationalisation are healthcare, manufacturing of medica

Budget may levy higher import duties to stem rupee slide: EY's Srivastava

The government, in the forthcoming Budget, could consider levying higher tariffs on imports to check the significant decline in rupee value witnessed in the past few months, said EY Chief Policy Advisor DK Srivastava. The noted economist argued that higher import duties would curb the demand for dollars from importers and help arrest the sliding value of the rupee, which touched a historic low of 86.70 to a dollar on January 13. In an interview with PTI, Srivastava said the sudden downward movement of the rupee against the US dollar is going to be a challenge for policymakers -- for Budget makers on the fiscal side and the RBI on the monetary side. The expectation is that the US economy is going to recover, and therefore, a lot of financial resources are moving to the world's largest economy. Srivastava, who is a Member of the Advisory Council to the 15th Finance Commission, also said it is not just the rupee but other European currencies are also experiencing similar pressure. "In

Amnesty scheme for customs may be announced in upcoming Budget: Experts

In a bid to reduce litigation, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the upcoming Budget may announce an Amnesty Scheme for customs to foster ease of doing business. "The main asks of the industry would certainly be aligned with the objectives of the government and one objective of the government has been litigation reduction. On that front, having an amnesty scheme for customs especially covering pre-GST legacy taxes like additional duty, special additional duty has been one of the asks of the industry," Price Waterhouse & Co LLP managing director Anurag Sehgal said. The government had in the past announced amnesty schemes for excise and service tax and even for the income tax but not for customs. There are estimates that over 40,000 cases were pending in various courts and tribunals pertaining to customs duty alone. Another consultancy firm EY India said customs litigations are pending at various forums for a very long time and the same require time and effort to be spent by ...

Airlines to mandatorily share int'l passenger data with customs from Apr 1

Airlines will have to mandatorily share details of foreign travellers with the Indian Customs authorities from April 1, 2025, and non-compliance can attract penalties. All air transport service providers operating flights to/from India will have to register with the National Customs Targeting Centre-Passenger (NCTC-Pax) by January 10, 2025, in order to comply with the requirement, according to a communication issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). Details ranging from mobile number, and payment mode to travel itinerary need to be shared with the authorities 24 hours before the departure of an international flight. On August 8, 2022, the CBIC notified the 'Passenger Name Record Information Regulations, 2022' under which airlines were required to share passenger name record (PNR) details of foreign travellers with the Customs department. This system is intended to enhance interdiction capabilities of authorities as well as risk analysis of passengers. In c

Steel ministry urges FinMin to hike Customs duty to counter Chinese threat

The steel ministry believes that a higher import duty, if implemented, could mitigate the adverse effects of a rise in cheaper imports of finished steel, particularly from China

Finance ministry weighs phasing out customs duty exemptions in Budget 2025

Exemptions under review include bulk drugs used in insulin production, raw materials for lab-grown diamonds, plastics used in optical fiber production, and more

Enabling IGCRS rules for EOUs electronically to cut transaction costs

The EOUs should quickly familiarise themselves with the new procedures and raise any doubts/difficulties with the CBIC and ICEGATE, preferably before the coming Wednesday

How to trade Titan, other jewellery stocks amid rising Gold prices?

Stocks like PC Jeweller, TBZ, Kalyan Jewellers and Senco Gold can potentially rally up to 27% from current levels, suggest technical charts.

Maruti Suzuki receives Rs 3.81 crore show cause notice from customs office

The show cause notice asks the automaker to justify its claim for customs duty exemption on certain imported goods

Gold exchange-traded funds mine a rich vein: The price dip pays off

Recent Customs duty cut has sparked a gold rush, driving ETF inflows to their highest level since February 2020

Statsguru: Customs duty revisions in Budget aimed to boost manufacturing

The share of Customs duty in India's gross tax receipts has more than halved in the past decade

Carrying Adidas, Nike fakes to US? Customs can destroy counterfeit goods

An individual may possess one counterfeit item per type for personal use only, not for sale. Possession of quantities exceeding this limit is prohibited, as per US Customs and Border Protection rules

Scrap 5% Customs duty on newsprint to manage operation cost: INS to govt

The Indian Newspaper Society has urged the government to scrap the five per cent Customs duty on newsprint to allow publishers to manage their operational costs more effectively. In a statement, the INS said a combination of factors affecting the price and availability of newsprint -- geopolitical uncertainties, logistics, rupee depreciation and Customs duty -- have created a formidable burden for publishers in the country. The escalations in the conflict in West Asia, as well as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, have significantly affected the global supply chain, including for newsprint, the organisation said in its statement issued here on Monday. The Indian Newspaper Society (INS) urgently appealed to the government to reconsider the imposition of five per cent Customs duty on newsprint. "This measure, if withdrawn, would provide much-needed relief to the print media industry, allowing publishers to manage their operational costs more effectively and ensure the continued

WTO MC13: India for review of Customs duty pause on digital goods

India demands end to customs duties moratorium on e-commerce, says it impacts developing countries

Govt should not cut import duties on parts used in making smartphones: GTRI

The government should not cut import duties on electronic components used in making smartphones in the forthcoming Budget as the current tariff structure has already proven successful and changing them could harm local manufacturing, a GTRI report said on Monday. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that maintaining the current rates would help balance industry growth and long-term development in India's growing smartphone market. "Currently, tariffs on imported parts for smartphones in India are between 7.5 per cent and 10 per cent. The Budget should maintain these taxes. The Budget should not cut the import tariffs on parts used to make smartphones," it said, adding that the current rate of levies supports duty-free imports for making products to exports. The Budget is scheduled to be presented on February 1. The suggestion is in contrast to the demand of industry body India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) that import duty cuts on mobile phone components c

Indian exporters gear up to comply with EU's paperless customs system: Rpt

Indian exporting firms need to gear themselves up to comply with new EU norms as the European Union is moving towards a paperless customs process from June 3 this year. The development assumes significance for domestic exporters as the European Union (EU) accounts for about 17 per cent of India's total merchandise exports. In 2022-23, India exported goods worth USD 75 billion to EU as against the country's total exports of USD 451 billion in that financial year. The EU has proposed to implement the second phase of its Import Control System (ICS) from June 3 this year. ICSD 1 was applicable to the air mail and express deliveries from March 15, 2021, and then it was extended to air cargo from March last year. The 'ICS2' will now be extended to cover all type of imports using ships, trains, trucks also on June 3, 2024. First two phases covered 15 per cent imports into the EU, third and final phase cover balance 85 per cent of the imports by value. According to a European Commission .

Jindal Stainless seeks zero customs duty on ferro nickel, ferro molybdenum

Jindal Stainless on Friday said it has sought continuation of zero customs duty on stainless steel scrap, steel scrap and pure nickel. "As we approach the Union Budget for 2024-25, we request continued support from the Ministry of Steel. In particular, we propose a long-term exemption of basic customs duty on ferro nickel and ferro molybdenum to ensure the industry's access to this important raw material at competitive rates. Additionally, we advocate for the continuation of zero customs duty on stainless steel scrap and steel scrap, besides pure nickel," Jindal Stainless Managing Director Abhyuday Jindal said in a statement. The present customs duty on ferro nickel is 2.5 per cent while in the case of ferro molybdenum it is 5 per cent. According to the statement, Jindal Stainless is confident that these proposals will help the stainless steel industry thrive. "We also request continuing export duty of 30 per cent on exports of chrome ore from the country. The issue of dumping and

LS passes Bills to cap age of GSTAT Prez, effect Budget duty changes

The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed a Bill that seeks to give immediate effect to the changes in customs and excise duties announced in the Budget. The House after a brief discussion on the Provisional Collection of Taxes Bill 2023, passed the Bill by voice vote. Jayant Sinha (BJP) and B V Satyavathi (YSRCP) participated in the brief discussion on the Bill which is aimed at curbing speculative activities following changes in customs and excise duties in the Budget. Moving the Bill for passage, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, the Provisional Collection of Taxes Bill, 2023 seeks to obtain the authority from Parliament to provisionally levy and collect the newly imposed or increased duties of customs and excise for 75 days. This Bill proposes to replace the erstwhile Provisional Collection of Taxes Act, 1931 with a minor change that is technical in nature. The provisions of the Bill empower collection provisionally, during the period between the introduction and enactment of th

India, Bangladesh customs officials discuss opening of new customs stations

Customs officials of India and Bangladesh have discussed a host of bilateral issues such as opening of new land customs stations, easing port restrictions, development of road and rail infrastructure and pre-arrival exchange of customs data. The two-day 14th Joint Group of Customs (JGC) meeting between India and Bangladesh that ended on Tuesday was co-chaired by CBIC Member (Customs) Surjit Bhujabal and Bangladesh National Board of Revenue Member Md. Mahbubuzzaman. In a statement, the finance ministry said the 14th JGC meeting discussed a host of bilateral issues such as opening of new land customs stations, easing port restrictions, development of road and rail infrastructure, pre-arrival exchange of customs data and a bilateral agreement on customs cooperation. India thanked Bangladesh for completing trial runs and issuing notification for operationalising the agreement on use of Chattogram and Mongla Ports (ACMP) as was decided in the 13th JGC meeting and initiated discussions on