Paragraph 43, page 50 of the Secretariat report states that a Special Additional Duty (SAD) of 4% is applied on "imports, with few exceptions (14.8% of tariff lines)".
69. Could India provide details of the types of goods which do not attract the SAD?
70. Why does India not apply the SAD on these goods?
71. Is the list of imports subject to the SAD routinely amended by India? If yes, are amendments made on a yearly basis, or at the discretion of authorities?
Reply: The list of goods exempt from Special Additional Duty is provided in notification No. 20/2006 Customs dated 1.3.2006 and notification No. 22/2011 Customs dated 1.3.2011. Generally speaking, these are goods that are exempt from the payment of state VAT. Since Special additional duty is a duty equivalent to internal taxes, it is not applied to these goods. In addition to these listed exemptions, exemption is also available to goods imported for subsequent sale by way of a refund which can be claimed if proof of payment of VAT on the imported goods is produced. Further, those goods that are clearly intended for retail sale (such as pre packaged goods intended for retail sale in relation to which, it is required under a statute to declare the retail sale price; readymade garments; mobile phones; watches; and medicaments have also been exempted from 4% special CVD, as a trade facilitation measure to obviate the process of collecting duty and refunding the same upon payment of state VAT.
Although the Central Government is empowered to provide exemption for special additional duty at any time, the list of imports subject to special CV duty are generally reviewed at the time of annual budget exercise.
