From the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. Section 2 says the rates at which duties of customs are levied under the Customs Act, 1962 are specified in the First Schedule (imports) and the Second Schedule (exports). Your eight-digit tariff code decides the rate line. Exemption notifications can then lower the effective rate.

Section 3 adds further levies on imports. The Act provides for an additional duty equal to the excise duty on a like article (Section 3(1)), a duty to counter-balance excise on inputs (Section 3(3)), an additional duty of up to four per cent to counter-balance sales tax, VAT or local taxes (Section 3(5)), integrated tax (Section 3(7)) and the GST Compensation Cess (Section 3(9)). Which of these is actually being collected on your goods depends on the notifications in force, so check the live tariff.

Section 3(7) says an imported article is liable to integrated tax at the rate leviable under Section 5 of the IGST Act, 2017 on a like article on its supply in India, and not exceeding forty per cent. The value used is set by Section 3(8).

Under Section 3(8), the value is the sum of two things: (a) the value of the article determined under Section 14(1) of the Customs Act, 1962 (or its tariff value under Section 14(2)), and (b) any customs duty chargeable under Section 12 of the Customs Act and any sum chargeable as an addition to, and in the same manner as, a duty of customs. The IGST itself and the cess are left out of that base.

Section 3(8A) deals with this. If the whole of the goods are sold, the value for IGST is the value under Section 3(8) or the transaction value, whichever is higher. If part is sold, the same test applies to that part in proportion. Where the goods are sold more than once, the last sale is the transaction value.

The Act applies the cess under Section 3(9) at the rate leviable under the GST (Compensation to States) Cess Act, 2017 on a like article, on the value set by Section 3(10). The Act text does not tell you the rate in force today, so confirm it on cbic.gov.in before you cost a shipment.

Not for the duties in Section 3. The Act says the base does not include the safeguard duty (Sections 8B and 8C), the countervailing duty (Section 9) or the anti-dumping duty (Section 9A). They are charged in addition to other duties. See our post on anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard duty.

For some articles, yes. The proviso to Section 3(2) says that where an imported article must carry a declared retail sale price under the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 and the like article is a notified item under Section 4A of the Central Excise Act, 1944, the value is deemed to be the retail sale price less any abatement notified. Where more than one retail price is printed, the highest is used.

Use the live tariff on cbic.gov.in, and read the exemption notification that applies to your goods. Our HS Code Finder and Product Guide help you reach the right chapter. This post explains the structure, not today's rates.

Yes. Send us the product, the eight-digit code, the invoice value and the freight. We will show you each layer. We are just a call and a message away.