{"id":85500,"date":"2026-02-02T15:30:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T10:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=85500"},"modified":"2026-02-02T16:49:41","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T11:19:41","slug":"basic-customs-duty-bcd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/basic-customs-duty-bcd\/","title":{"rendered":"Basic Customs Duty (BCD)"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Basic Customs Duty Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bringing immediate relief to patients with cancer and rare diseases, Union Budget 2026-27 proposed a full exemption of basic customs duty on 17 cancer-related drugs and medicines.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>About Basic Customs Duty<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">BCD is a type of <\/span><b>tax imposed on goods imported<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> into India.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is <\/span><b>levied on imported items under <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Section 12 of the <\/span><b>Customs Act, 1962<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The <\/span><b>tax rate is levied as per<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the First Schedule to <\/span><b>Customs Tariff Act, 1975.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Purpose<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: To <\/span><b>protect domestic industries<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from foreign competition, <\/span><b>regulate trade,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>generate revenue<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for the government.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">BCD is <\/span><b>calculated as a percentage of the value of the imported goods<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, determined based on the customs tariff, i.e., it is <\/span><b>fixed based on the ad-valorem.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It can significantly impact the total landed cost of the imported items.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">BCD rates <\/span><b>usually range from 5% to 40%<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>depend on the item\u2019s category and country of origin.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>Central Government<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> holds the<\/span><b> power to exempt specific goods <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">from tax.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>calculation <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of BCD involves several steps:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Classification of Goods:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Imported goods are classified under specific Harmonized System (HS) codes, which <\/span><b>determine the applicable duty rate.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Assessment of Value: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The value of the goods is assessed <\/span><b>based on the transaction value,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> including the <\/span><b>cost of goods, insurance, and freight (CIF).<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Application of Duty Rate:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The BCD Tax rate is applied to the assessed value to determine the duty payable.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Other Types of Custom Duties<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Additional Customs Duty:\u00a0<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Additional Customs Duty, also called <\/span><b>Special Countervailing Duty<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, is a tax that is applied<\/span><b> to balance subsidies that exporting countries provide to their products<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It helps level the playing field and ensures that domestic producers are not disadvantaged.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Countervailing Duty (CVD):\u00a0<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This duty <\/span><b>counters foreign government subsidies on exports.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When foreign producers receive subsidies, they can sell at a lower price, creating unfair competition for local industries.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CVD<\/span><b> safeguards local businesses<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from this unfair advantage.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Special Additional Duty (SAD):\u00a0<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SAD is levied on imports under the Central Excise Act and <\/span><b>applies to the total value, including BCD and CVD.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This duty shields domestic industries by offsetting the impact of low-cost imports.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Anti-Dumping Duty:\u00a0<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>When foreign goods<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are <\/span><b>sold in India at prices below their value in the exporting country, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">anti-dumping duty is applied.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This duty prevents unfair pricing practices that could damage domestic industries.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Education Cess:\u00a0<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is a <\/span><b>2% additional charge on customs duties, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">used to fund educational initiatives in India.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Education cess basically reflects the government\u2019s commitment to improving education standards in the country.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Protective Duties:\u00a0<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These duties are designed to <\/span><b>protect local industries from competition<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with <\/span><b>cheaper imported goods.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By increasing the cost of imports, protective duties make local products more appealing to consumers.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>S<\/strong><b>afeguard Duties:\u00a0<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Imposed under Section 8B of the Customs Tariff Act, safeguard duties are <\/span><b>temporary measures to protect local industries from sudden increases in imports.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This duty <\/span><b>gives domestic industries time to adapt<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and strengthen their market position.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>National Calamity Contingent Duty (NCCD):\u00a0<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NCCD is applied to <\/span><b>generate funds for responding to natural disasters<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and large-scale national emergencies.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NCCD rate <\/span><b>varies depending on the item <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and ensures quick resources are available for crisis response.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source: <\/b><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/business\/budget\/budget-2026-cancer-drugs-custom-duties\/article70577841.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TH<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Basic Customs Duty (BCD) is a type of tax imposed on goods imported into India. Read more about Basic Customs Duty (BCD), Purpose, Types, Latest News.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":85504,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[5093,21,22,23],"class_list":{"0":"post-85500","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-prelims-current-affairs","8":"tag-basic-customs-duty","9":"tag-prelims-pointers","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-prelims-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85500"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85500\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85570,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85500\/revisions\/85570"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}