Date:01/03/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/03/01/stories/2005030101050300.htm

Back Customs duty on petrochem products cut

Our Bureau

New Delhi , Feb. 28

THE Budget has proposed a number of reductions of customs duty for various chemical and petrochemical products that will help bring down the cost of a number of imported chemicals and petrochemicals.

The import duty on all polymers of ethylene, polypropelene have been brought down from 15 to 10 per cent.

Also, the duty for propelene copolymers, polymers and copolmers of styrene and polymers of vinyl chloride have been reduced from the existing 15 per cent to 10 per cent.

Similarly, the customs duty on ethylene, propylene, butylenes, butadiene, benzene, toluene, O-Xylene, styrene, ethylbenzene, ethylene dichloride, vinyl chloride monomer and acrylonitrite has been brought down from the existing 10 per cent to 5 per cent.

The Budget has proposed to reduce the customs duty on ethyl vinyl acetate from 20 per cent to 10 per cent and for dematured industrial ethyl alcohol and molasses, the rate has been changed from the existing 15 per cent to 10 per cent.

In case of organic chemicals, the Budget has proposed to reduce the customs duty for a large number of items.