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Customs duty
is a tax which the State collects on goods imported into or exported
out of the boundaries of a country. Customs duties now form a significant
source of revenue for all countries, more so in the case of developing
countries like India. In India, customs duties are levied on the
goods and at the rates specified in the Schedules to the Customs
Tariff Act, 1975. The taxable event is import into export from India.
Export duties are practically non-existent at present. They are
levied occasionally to mop up excess profitability in international
price of goods in respect of which domestic prices may be low at
given time. But sweep of import duties is very wide, almost universal,
barring a few goods like food grains, fertilizer, life saving drugs
and equipment etc. Import duties generally consist of the following:
1.Basic duty.
It may be at the standard rate or, in the case of import from some
countries, at the preferential rate.
2.Additional
customs duty equal to central excise duty leviable on like goods
produced or manufactured in India. It is commonly referred to as
countervailing duty or C.V.D.
3.Special
additional duty of Customs at the rate of 4% in order to provide
a level playing field to indigenous goods which have to bear sales
tax. This duty is to computed on the aggregate of –
4. Additional
duty of Customs at the rate of Re. 1/- per liter on imported
motor spirit (petrol) and high speed diesel oil.
5. Anti-dumping
duty/Safeguard duty for import to specified goods with a view
to protecting domestic industry from unfair injury.
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