Custom Duty on Select Communication Devices Hiked by Upto 20% by Finance Ministry

The Finance Ministry has levied 10% custom duty on smart watches, optical transport equipment, combination of one or more of Packet Optical Transport Product or Switch (POTP or POTS), Optical Transport Network (OTN)products, Soft switches and voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) equipment.

10% custom duty has also been levied on carrier ethernet switch, Packet Transport Node (PTN) products, Multiprotocol Label Switching Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) products and Multiple Input/Multiple Output (MIMO).

The notification issued by shall be effective from the 12th October 2018. Reportedly the hike in Customs Duty on products falling under the 'non-essential' objects of import has been done in an attempt to stem the fall of rupee.

In September, the government, for the second time, had extended the deadline for the imposition of higher customs duties on 29 products, including almond, walnut and pulses, imported from the US, till November 2.

In June, India decided to impose retaliatory tariffs from August 4. But it was extended by another 45 days till September 18. In a notification last night, the department of revenue has said that now the duties would come effect from November 2. The duty hike move by India was in retaliation to US President Donald Trump's March 9 decision to impose heavy tariffs on imported steel and aluminium items, a move that has sparked fears of a global trade war.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 12, 2018 12:18 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).