Report by the Secretariat (WT/TPR/S/249): III. TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY MEASURE: (2) Measures Directly Affecting Imports: (iv) Tariffs: page 43, para. 28:
As stated in the Secretariat Report, "India provides a number of exemptions on imported inputs for certain sectors or importers, depending on the industrial use of the import. As a result of these exemptions, the effective applied tariff is considerably lower than the simple average standard rate."
Could India specify exactly the sectors that are subject to the above mentioned exemptions and provide clarification on the criteria for the determination of the sectors at issue?"
Reply: Exemptions from customs duties have been extended to sectors such as infrastructure (e.g. road construction), petroleum exploration, water supply, telecom, power, information technology, lifesaving drugs, agriculture, food processing, horticulture etc. These sectors are identified as thrust sectors in the context of overall development of the country.
