Power gear imports slapped 21 per cent duty

The government yesterday decided to slap 21 per cent duty on imports of power equipment, as a step to protect domestic companies from cheap Chinese shipments.

According to sources cited by PTI, the cabinet had approved a levy of  21 per cent import duty on power equipment sourced from overseas.

The cabinet approved basic customs duty of 5 per cent, counterveiling duty of 12 per cent and 4 per cent special additional duty on import of power gear.

The power ministry, had, earlier this month, floated a proposal seeking higher duty on import of equipment for the power sector.

The ministry proposed 5 per cent basic custom duty, 10 per cent counter-veiling duty and 4 per cent special additional duty. Further, with the recent hike in excise duty of 2 per cent, the overall import duty would be 21 per cent.

Currently, equipment imports for under 1,000 MW capacity attract 5 per cent customs duty, while those above are exempted.