Customs law

Sanjay Kumar Asst. Professor of law The WBNUJS, Kolkata

Introduction
Regulation of export and import Duties of customs including export duties union list, entry 83, constitution of India

Legal framework
Customs Act, 1962 w.e.f.1st Feb., 1963 Customs Tariff Act, 1975 w.e.f. 2nd August, 1976 Foreign Trade (Development & regulation) Act, 1992 Customs Valuation (Determination of price of imported goods) Rules, 2007 w.e.f. 10th October, 2007 Customs Valuation (Determination of price of Export goods) Rules, 2007 w.e.f. 10th October, 2007

Conti
Customs Act is the basic enactment for levy & collection of duty on imports of goods into and exports of goods from, India. Customs Tariff Act contains the rate of customs duty. Foreign Trade Act empowers the Central government to frame Declare Foreign Trade Policy (sec. 5). Recently on27August, 2009, Ministry of commerce, GOI, has announced the Foreign Trade Policy for 2009-2014.

Types of duties
Basic Customs Duty(BCD) u/s 12(1) of the Act,1962 r/w sec. 2 of the Act,1975 Additional Customs Duty(ACD) u/s 3(1) of the Act,1975 ACD u/s 3(1) =Excise duty Additional Customs Duty u/s 3(3) of the Act,1975 ACD u/s 3(3) =excise duty on raw materials & components of the imported goods Additional Customs Duty u/s 3(5) of the Act,1975 ACD u/s 3(5) = VAT/ Sales tax & other local taxes-not exceeding 4% as specified by the central govt.

 Protective Duty u/s 6 of the Act, 1975 Levied as per recommendation of the Tariff Commission of India as established under Tariff Commission Act, 1951 Safeguard Duty u/s 8B of the Act,1975 Safeguard Duty in case of imports of goods from China u/s 8C of the Act,1975 Countervailing Duty(CVD) on subsidized goods u/s 9 r/w sec. 9B of the Act,1975 Anti-Dumping Duty u/s 9A r/w sec. 9B of the Act,1975

 Only BCD is levied and collected under the Customs Act, 1962 and the rest of duties are levied & collected under the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. Duties u/s 3(1), (3) & (5) of the Act are also popularly called as countervailing duty. All the above-mentioned duties are levied & collected on the imports of goods in India.

 Till date no protective duty u/s 6 of the Act has been levied because it is not compatible with the WTO Rules. No anti-dumping duty in case of imports by 100% EOU, FTZ, SEZ, unless otherwise notified by the central govt. No CVD or Anti-dumping duty merely by reason of exemption or refund of duties or taxes (i.e. Zero rated goods).