FICCI in its pre-budget memorandum has given the following recommendations for the consumer electronics industry.
The following suggestions are for consideration:
1.Customs Duty on Panels for LCD & LED TVs should be brought down to 0% and end user condition should be waived off.
2.Import Duty on Set Top Box – increase the Customs Duty from 5% to 10%.
3. Manufacturers who are selling items post imports has to undergo cumbersome refund process for getting back Special Additional Duty (SAD) allowed vide Notification. 102/97. The process of claiming refunds from customs is time consuming and normally takes 9 to 12 months for recovery. SAD levy should be removed both for trading and manufacturing items as it does not generate revenue for the Government. For traders, SAD is exempted and for manufacturers CENVAT credit available. More over this is adding to the transaction cost of companies.
4.Customs Duty under project imports should be reduced from 5% to 0%.
5.The Customs Duty for R&D items should be reduced to 0% to promote R&D activities in India. This is particularly important for air-conditioning, refrigeration and electronic industry.
6.Customs duty relaxation should be allowed to units manufacturing Energy efficient products.
7.Customs Duty relaxation should be allowed to parts, components, spares, raw materials, supporting machines, tools and dies for manufacturers who adopt Non ODS Technology in manufacturing of products.
8.Customs Duty on Magnetron should be reduced to 0% without IGCR condition. Magnetron is one of the most costly parts of Microwave.
9.DVD Writer is a product which is in the Information Technology Agreement of India (ITA- 1 List), Government has thrust to promote manufacturing and Export of these products. The Customs Duty for import of parts & components should be fully exempted for DVD Writer.
10.Customs Compliance to be shifted from current mode to Self compliance mode with stringent violations norms.
11. Import of commercial items should be allowed in personal baggage for big manufacturers to meet contingencies.
12.MRP based assessment for Home Appliance products should be increased to at least 45%.
The Supreme Court’s decision in CCE vs. SKF India Ltd. (2009 (239) ELT 385), wherein the Court has held that the interest is payable on payment of differential duty payable because of revision of prices subsequent to removal of goods. In the Home Appliance Industry, it is usual to supply raw material of various products for the purpose of servicing / maintenance and the prices are first fixed provisionally and subsequently after protracted negotiations, the final prices are mutually decided.
