Govt cuts duty on mobile parts import to boost domestic mfg

New Delhi: In a bid to promote domestic manufacturing of mobile phones, the government on Wednesday reduced customs duty on import of certain parts and inputs like camera lens, and extended the concessional duty on lithium-ion cells for batteries for another year.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman also extend the customs duty exemption to import of capital goods and machinery required for manufacture of lithium-ion cells for batteries used in electric vehicles. These announcements were made by the minister in her Budget speech. The finance minister also revised upwards the National Calamity Contingent Duty (NCCD) on specified cigarettes by about 16 per cent. It was last revised 3 years ago. To avoid cascading of taxes on blended compressed natural gas, she proposed to exempt excise duty on GST-paid compressed bio gas contained in it.