Customs duty recast may make telecom gear imports costlier

New Delhi: The government has tightened rules around custom duty payments by telecom gear importers in a bid to plug leakages to the tune of Rs 500-1,000 crore, a move which may increase the cost of equipment such as routers, modems, set top boxes amongst others shipped from overseas.

The government has amended and deleted certain harmonised system (HS) codes in the Customs Tariff Act to plug leakages and clear the air around custom duty payments by importers.