Customs and Excise Duty

Several items will be subject to Excise Duty rather than Customs Duty at the same rate in order to improve compliance to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) recommendations. This should have no incidence on price or revenue.

Customs Duty will be abolished and cigarettes will be subject to a single rate of excise duty of Rs 2,200 per thousand cigarettes. Excise duty on alcoholic beverages will also be reviewed with marginal changes in prices
Excise duty on locally manufactured goods (as is the case for imported goods) will be paid upon the validation of the Declaration at Customs. Earlier, it had to be paid within 7 days from the end of the month in which declaration was made.

Hybrid vehicles will be subject to 50% of the current excise duty rates as from 1st July 2008. Road tax and registration fees will also be halved for such vehicles. It is to be noted that customs duty will be abolished on tyres with energy saving and emission-reducing certification.
 

MID Levy

A token levy of 15 cents will be payable into the Maurice Ile Durable (MID) Fund on each:
• litre of petroleum products
• kilo of Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG)
• kilo of coal

The purpose of this levy is to support the efforts to protect the environment through recycling, to encourage more efficient use of energy and to increase reliance on renewable energy.

The Customs Act will be amended so that, as from the 1st July 2009, all permits relating to imports and exports, except those that are considered essential, are suspended. The aim is to reduce the number of permits relating to imports and exports to the essential minimum.
 

Customs Tariffs

Double Space Cabin Vehicles

Customs Tariff is removed on double space cabin vehicles without rear bed-caisson and all single space cabin vehicles when purchased for the following:-
• Small sugar cane planters
• Vegetable, flower and fruit growers
• Fishermen’s cooperatives
• Poultry farmers
• Pig and cattle breeders
• SMEs registered with SEHDA with a turnover of at least Rs 3 million and engaged for at least 2 years in Furniture making, Light engineering and Footwear manufacturing.

Click here for a list of duty reduced items
Click here for a list of duty removed items