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The Finance Minister has introduced several new measures to promote the investment and also expand the infrastructure base in the country. The Minister proposes to reduce the customs duties on selected capital goods and parts there of to below 15 per cent, to 10 per cent in some cases and to 5 per cent in some other to promote investment.
As far as the infrastructure is concerned, for the Minister proposes to reduce the duty from 20 per cent to 10 per cent for the textile machinery in order to help the textile industry acquire a competitive edge in the post-quota regime. Similarly, to encourage the food processing industry the Minister proposes to reduce the duty on refrigerated vans from 20 percent to 10 percent.
In order to give a leg-up to the leather and footwear industry, the Minister proposes to reduce the customs duties on seven specified machinery from 20 per cent to 5 per cent. The duty on ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA), an input for the footwear industry, is also proposed to be reduced from 20 per cent to 10 per cent.
As far as pharmaceuticals and biotechnology are concerned, the Minister proposes to reduce the customs duty on nine specified machinery used in these two sectors to 5 per cent. The Minister further proposes to reduce customs duties on specified parts of battery-operated road vehicles and for printing presses from 20 per cent to 10 per cent. The reduction in the duties on the infrastructure will help in reducing the costs of the end product.
SB/MVVS/NVN/KKA
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