77.28% Import Tax: India's Legalized Extortion
Long story short: Every time I buy some component for my projects. The Indian customs extorts more than 100%.
Demand "fair" import tax - pretty ironic huh
I ordered a small DIY electronic kit for a project. The module itself, including shipping, cost me $82 USD (~₹7,000). But by the time it actually reached me, I had to pay extra 9500 INR to get it "cleared".
Here's how the costs broke down:
- Customs Duty: ₹5,400 - 77.28%! it's absolutely ridiculous.
- Handling Charges: ₹500 - its the "new normal" for all shipping companies.
- "Documentation" Charges: ₹3,000 - this is just bribe, look at the screenshot below
- IGST (18%): ₹630 - more tax, why not
The \"Extra amount\" is the Documentation charges \"requested\" by customs
So in this case, the effective "tax" was 135%. Just to be clear I didn't buy any luxury car - just an electronic kit. The legalized 77.28% tax is itself shameless, and now an extra amount was slapped by the customs "officials". By the way, the 77.28% is charged on the value "assessed" by the Customs officer, like they know anything about this stuff.
No country in the whole world has this 77.28% import duty
The stuff I buy is experimental development kits which are not manufactured in India - probably never will be, I wonder who the government is trying to "protect". This may not be a big deal to many tax payers, most don't import directly, they buy the imported stuff.
Since you're here, I assume you're in the 2-3% of the Population who pays tax.
Here's what I think (even though you didn't ask for it):
- This is non political, No political party is here to "save" us. If we are dependent on a politician, then its our problem.
- If we pay for a service (water, electricity, roads, security etc) then its fees.
- If we are extorted (Income tax, GST, etc) then its plain theft.
- Currently citizens' hard earned money is taxed multiple times (Income tax-GST) - I wonder why
- Taxes only affect the working class including the business owners; Politicians and criminals have no consequences.
I'm not convinced some online petition will lead to change, but I'm sharing it to give you an idea of the Customs extortion. I thought I'd give it a shot while I'm still in India.
Just my opinion: It almost feels like a psyop to divert people's attention. Think about all the media storms over the years, like the pizza tax and popcorn tax debates - you get what I mean. There's always a new trivial controversy ready to be served up to the public.
The past few years have been golden, Its almost like Indian Govt wants the skilled and wealthy people to move out to better countries.
I wonder how India's future looks like when the top tax payers move out, will they squeeze the remaining tax payers even more or realize their mistake
Added context:
- This issue is not isolated to a single incidence. That's why I didn't mention the kit name or the specific shipping company. I have used a lot of services - DHL, Fedex, Aramex, Yitong, Grandslam; this does not target a specific company.
- For personal purchases the duty is 42%, i.e if they accept the invoice. If not its considered as "gift" even if you show the proof.
- I added the personal aspects since its more relatable. Even more important is the duty on medicines; that's inhumane no matter how they justify it - not to mention the extra GST added on top of that
- The scope of this petition is limited to the import duty extortion only. Income tax, GST, other extortion are not addressed here.
- Despite explicitly mentioning its a non-political issue, some still make it political. Supporting or hating politicians won't fix any issue. But that's your choice
- As of Jan 03, 2025; This post had 59K views, 517 upvotes, 112 comments, 138 shares - but the petition had only 41 signs.