Import duty on plantation equipment reduced from 50.8% to 5%
TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ SATURDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2003 01:02:48 AM ]

NEW DELHI : Ahead of the ’04-05 budget, the government has slashed customs duty on 20 items of machinery and capital equipment for the plantation sector to 5%.

It has also withdrawn the 16% countervailing duty and the 4% special additional duty of customs on these items.

The effective duty prior to the reduction, on machinery and equipment imported for coffee plantation, tea plantation and rubber plantation, worked out to around 50.8%.

The decision to lower the import duty was announced earlier by commerce minister Arun Jaitely as part of a package for the plantation sector.

The machinery for coffee plantation, which will now attract a 5% duty, include coffee grinder for industrial use, coffee roasting machines for industrial use, power weeding machines, coffee processing machines and sprayers.

For tea plantation, duty has been lowered on items including tea bagging machines, tea packaging machines, colour sorting machines and tea pruning machines.

For rubber plantation, equipment such as slab cutters, shredders will attract the 5% duty.

Besides lowering the import duty, the government has announced cheaper loans and exemption from mandatory filing of returns (under rule 7B of the IT Act) for this sector.