Carrying forward the initiatives taken for agriculture and agro-processing sectors, the government proposed to reduce basic customs duty from 7.5 percent to 2.5 percent on sugarcane planter, root or tuber crop harvesting machine and rotary tiller and weeder and parts for the manufacture of these.
During the presenting the Union Budget 2012-13 in Lok Sabha Friday, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced the decision to reduce basic customs duty from 7.5 percent to 5 percent on specified coffee plantation and processing machinery.
The basic customs duty was also reduced on some water soluble fertilizers and liquid fertilizers, other than urea, from 7.5 percent to 5 percent and from 5 percent to 2.5 percent.
Giving substantial relief to the fertilizer sector, Mukherjee announced that imports of equipment for initial setting-up or substantial expansion of fertilizer projects are being fully exempted from basic customs duty of 5 percent for a period of three years up to March 31, 2015.
