After Gold and TVs, Government targets perfumes, laptops and clothes
Posted on: 04/Sep/2013 1:44:45 PM
Earlier Central Government had imposed duty on imported gold and LCD TVs. Now an inter-ministerial panel has suggested higher taxes for non-essential imports like clothes, laptops and perfumes with a view to curbing inward shipments and containing the current account deficit (CAD).
The Committee has also suggested a list of non-essential items the import of which could be compressed, with a view to bridge the trade gap.
These suggestions form part of the recommendations made by the Committee set up by Finance Minister P Chidambaram under the chairmanship of Rajat Bhargava, Joint Secretary (Budget Division) to suggest steps to contain the rising CAD, which had touched a record high of 4.8 per cent of GDP in the last fiscal.
The panel was in favor of imposing these curbs one after the other.
However, after discussions were held between senior officials in commerce and finance ministeries, it was decided that most of the curbs would be decided upon only after the first half of the financial year.
