Kelkar taskforce recommends 3 slabs of customs duties

NEW DELHI: Kelkar taskforce on direct and indirect taxes recommended three slabs of customs duties including zero per cent duty for life savings drugs and 10 per cent for raw materials and intermediate goods within two years.
Setting the roadmap for tax reforms, the Kelkar panel in its report submitted to the Finance Minister, proposed that zero, 10 and 20 per cent customs duty slabs in the next two years should be modified to 5, 8 and 10 per cent levels by 2006-07.
The panel also proposed special import regime for petroleum products.
For the Small Scale Industries, it recommended cleansing of the duty structure and steps for minimising harassment and to provide that no arrests can be made without magisterial approval.
Describing it as the heart of the report, the task force also recommended complete automation and introduction of IT in customs and excise departments by January one, 2004, in a bid to reduce transaction cost and simplify procedures.