Goods included under Customs Duty ACT

“Coastal goods” means goods, other than imported goods, transported in a vessel from one port in India to another [Section 2(7)];

“Dutiable goods” means any goods which are chargeable to duty and on which duty has not been paid [Section 2(14)];

“entry” in relation to goods means an entry made in a bill of entry, shipping bill or bill of export and includes the entry made under the regulations made under section 84; [Section 2(16)];

“Export”, with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, means taking out of India to a place outside India [Section 2(18)];

“Export goods” means any goods which are to be taken out of India to a place outside India [Section 2(19)];

“Foreign-going vessel or aircraft” means any vessel or aircraft for the time being engaged in the carriage of goods or passengers between any port or airport in India and any port or airport outside India, whether touching any intermediate port or airport in India or not, and includes –

(i) Any naval vessel of a foreign Government taking part in any naval exercises;

(ii) Any vessel engaged in fishing or any other operations outside the territorial waters of India;

(iii) Any vessel or aircraft proceeding to a place outside India for any purpose whatsoever [Section 2(21)];

“Goods” includes:

(a) Vessels, aircrafts and vehicles;

(b) Stores;

(c) Baggage;

(d) Currency and negotiable instruments; and

(e) Any other kind of movable property [Section 2(22)].

“Prohibited goods” means any goods the import or export of which is subject to any prohibition under this Act or any other law for the time being in force but does not include any such goods in respect of which the conditions subject to which the goods are permitted to be imported or exported have been complied with [Section 2(33)];

“Stores” means goods for use in a vessel or aircraft and includes fuel and spare parts and other articles of equipment, whether or not for immediate fitting; [Section 2(38)];

Levy and Collection of Customs duty

There are four stages in any tax structure, viz., levy, assessment, collection and postponement. The basis of levy of tax is specified in Section 12, charging section of the Customs Act. It identifies the person or properties in respect of which tax or duty is to be levied or charged. Under assessment, the liability for payment of duty is quantified and the last stage is the collection of duty which is may be postponed for administrative convenience.

As per Section 12, customs duty is imposed on goods imported into or exported out of India as per the rates specified under the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 or any other law. On analysis of Section 12, we derive the following points:

(i) Customs duty is imposed on goods when such goods are imported into or exported out of India;

(ii) The levy is subject to other provisions of this Act or any other law;

(iii) The rates of Basic Custom Duty are as specified under the Tariff Act, 1975 or any other law;

(iv) Even goods belonging to Government are subject to levy, though they may be exempted by notification(s) under Section 25.

Custom Tariff Act, 1975 has two schedules. Schedule I prescribes tariff rates for imported goods, known as Import Tariff‖ and Schedule II contains tariff for export goods known as Export Tariff.