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Dated: 02.02.2025

India’s customs duty updates 2025: Key exemptions, tariff changes, and business impact

The Government of India has issued a series of customs notifications for 2025, bringing important changes to import duty structures, exemptions, classifications, and newly added products. These changes impact multiple industries, including pharmaceuticals, renewable energy, automobiles, electronics, and luxury goods. Below is a breakdown of the key highlights from the latest Customs Notifications (03/2025 to 13/2025).

1. Notification No. 03/2025-Customs

• Amendment to Notification No. 27/2011-Customs.
• Revised description for tanned hides and skins: Includes bovine, buffalo, sheep, lamb, and other animals.
• Exemption for crust leather imports (Certain HS Codes).
• Effective Date: February 2, 2025.

2. Notification No. 04/2025-Customs

Changes in Custom Tariff Rates:

• 20% Duty: Goods under categories 2515, 2516, 3302, 3406, 3824, 6401, 6402, 6802, 7113, 7114, 8702, 8703, 8704, 8711, 8712, 8903, 9028, and 9401.7.5% Duty: Goods under 2933, 3824.99.00.
• NIL Duty: Items like tin, tungsten, molybdenum, cobalt, bismuth, zirconium, antimony, cadmium, and rhenium waste and scrap.
• Effective Date: February 2, 2025.

3. Notification No. 05/2025-Customs

• Amendment to Notification No. 50/2017-Customs.
• New exemptions & modifications:
• Fish paste, hydrolysate for aquatic feed, life-saving drugs & medicines (5%).
• Diamond seeds for lab-grown diamonds (NIL Duty).
• Wind energy equipment components, gold/silver findings, lithium-ion battery waste adjustments.

4. Notification No. 06/2025-Customs

• Amendment to Notification No. 11/2021-Customs.
• New custom duty rates introduced:
• Candles (7.5%), PVC Flex Films (7.5%), Marble Slabs (20%).
• Gold, silver, and platinum findings (1-1.4%).
• Auto components and electronics under HS codes 8702, 8703, 8704, 8711, etc. (67.5%).

5. Notification No. 07/2025-Customs

• Amendment to Notification No. 11/2018-Customs.
• Additional goods covered under exemption:
• Insertions for specific HS Codes in customs duty exemptions.
• Removal of certain serial numbers (e.g., Sl. No. 8).
• Effective Date: February 2, 2025.

6. Notification No. 08/2025-Customs

• Major removals from tariff list:
• Several serial numbers omitted from TABLE I (e.g., 1412, 1413, 3577, 3578, 6856-6885, etc.).
• New insertions in TABLE II:
• Tariff adjustments for items under 2515, 2516, 3406, 3920, 3921, 6403, 6802, 8541, 8704, 8903, etc.

7. Notification No. 09/2025-Customs

• Amendment to Notification No. 16/2017-Customs.
• List of newly added pharmaceutical items with exemption or reduced custom duty:
• Includes Pembrolizumab, Lorlatinib, Dacomitinib, Inotuzumab Ozogamicin, Ribociclib, Dabrafenib, Acalabrutinib, Olaparib, Amivantamab, Teclistamab, Ibrutinib, Bortezomib, Alectinib, Risdiplam Powder, Emicizumab, Atezolizumab, Pertuzumab + Trastuzumab, and others.
• Effective Date: February 2, 2025.

8. Notification No. 10/2025-Customs

• Amendment to Notification No. 57/2017-Customs.
• Custom duty exemptions:
• S. No. 5E removed.Custom duty for S. Nos. 6A, 6B, 6C, 6D, and 7 reduced to NIL.
• Amendments for Packet Transport Node (PTN) and Multiprotocol Label Switching-Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) products.
• Effective Date: February 2, 2025.

9. Notification No. 11/2025-Customs

• Amendment to Notification No. 25/2002-Customs (Dated: 1st March 2002).
• Key Changes:
• Revised and expanded list of machines & equipment exempted for Lithium-ion cell manufacturing used in:
• Battery of Mobile Handsets.
• Battery of Electrically Operated Vehicles (EVs).
• Newly included items under different tariff codes: Battery manufacturing equipment such as powder dryers, extrusion coating machines, slurry transfer systems, vacuum pumps, automatic winding machines, auto-taping, separator trimming machines, and laser welding systems.
• Production machines for negative and positive electrode plates.
• Recycling and waste recovery systems like NMP trapping, solvent recovery, and effluent treatment systems.
• Impact: The revised tariff exemptions are aimed at boosting local battery production, reducing import dependency for Lithium-ion cells, and supporting the Make in India initiative for EV and mobile battery production.
• Effective Date: February 2, 2025.

10. Notification No. 12/2025-Customs

• Amendment to Notification No. 19/2019-Customs (Dated: 6th July 2019).
• Key Changes:
• Expansion of coverage:
• The scope of certain items under Serial Nos. 10, 11, 12, and 13 has been expanded by modifying column (2) from “or 90” to “90 or 93”.
• Modification in ammunition classification: The term “Ammunition” has been removed from one entry.
• A new entry added for “Ammunition for goods mentioned at item (I)”.
• Effective Date: February 2, 2025.

11. Notification No. 13/2025-Customs

• Amendment to Notification No. 153/94-Customs (Dated: 13th July 1994).
• Key Change:
• The words and figures “chapter 88 or 89” are substituted with “chapter 86 or chapter 88 or chapter 89”.
• This implies that goods under Chapter 86 (Railway or tramway locomotives, rolling stock, and parts thereof) now fall under the same provisions as those from Chapter 88 (Aircraft, spacecraft) and Chapter 89 (Ships, boats, floating structures).
• Effective Date: February 2, 2025.

This Article is Authored by: Mr. Ravi Shekhar Jha, BALLB/Mob: +91-9999005379 & his email id is intelconsul@gmail.com

In case you face any issues related to Indirect Tax-Customs, GST, Foreign Trade Policy (FTP), Arbitration matters and Central Licensing and related advisory matters in India then please feel free to get in touch with SJ EXIM Services.

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Source: Cbic, Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India

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