Tomorrow, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the General Budget in Parliament at 11 am
Possibility of raising customs duty on products not falling under the category of essential commodities of various sectors
Updated: Jan 31st, 2023
New Delhi, 31-January-2023, Tuesday
In order to strengthen and speed up the campaign of self-reliant India, the current budget (Budget-2023) may announce an increase in custom duty on many imported products. This decision will help the government’s Make in India campaign and encourage local manufacturing. The government is planning to increase customs duty on 35 products to reduce imports and promote domestic production. These products include many products like private jets, helicopters, high-end electronic goods, plastic goods, jewellery, high-gloss paper and vitamins.
The list was prepared after the recommendation of the Ministry
After listing some products by various ministries, the government has planned to increase the customs duty. After reviewing this list, it is believed that so far the government has made up its mind to increase the customs duty on 35 products. One of the reasons for this is that the import of such products is being made expensive for these products to be manufactured in India. In December, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry asked various ministries to list non-essential imported products on which customs duty may be increased.
Making imports more expensive will reduce the deficit
The government is also making efforts to reduce imports due to current account deficit. Meanwhile, the current account deficit rose to a nine-month high of 4.4 percent in the July-September quarter. DeLorean said in a recent report that fears of an increase in the current account deficit remain. In addition to the threat of rising import bills, there is also a fear of increasing inflationary pressure on exports.
New plan to reduce imports
Custom duty may be increased on products that do not fall under the category of essential commodities of various sectors. Also, the government has set standards in many sectors to reduce the export of low-quality products. These products range from sports goods to wooden furniture and even portable water bottles, goods for both domestic and international manufacturers. These standards may reduce imports of many cheap products from China.
Gems and jewelery can be affordable
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has suggested a reduction in import duty on gold and some other items for the gems and jewelery sector. This will give an incentive to increase the export of jewelery and other finished products from the country. In last year’s budget, the government increased the import duty on gold from 10.75% to 15%. The government abolished customs duties in the aviation, electronics, steel and industrial manufacturing sectors.
