BackBudget 2020:Customs duty on import of newsprint slashed to 5%
Customs duty cut on certain raw materials, but revised upward on some goods made domestically
PremiumNew Delhi: The government on Saturday proposed to reduce basic customs duty on import of newsprint and light-weight coated paper to 5% from 10%.
“Customs duty is being reduced on certain inputs and raw materials while it is being revised upward on certain goods which are being made domestically," finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her Budget speech in the Lok Sabha.
"In the previous budget, basic custom duty of 10% was imposed on the news print and lightweight coated paper. However, since then I have received several references that this levy has put additional burden on print media at a time when it is going through a difficult phase. I, therefore, propose to reduce basic customs duty on imports of news print and light-weight coated paper from 10% to 5%," she added.
Pointing to challenges the print industry faced, the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) had requested the Centre to withdraw the 10% customs duty on newsprint, uncoated paper used for printing of newspapers, and light weight coated papers used for magazines.
“Publishers of newspapers and magazines are already reeling under severe financial pressure due to many factors like lower advertisement revenues, higher costs and digital onslaught from technological giants. Small and medium newspapers will go into deeper losses and many of them will be forced to close down," INS had said in a statement.
The print industry grew a mere 0.7% to ₹30,550 crore in 2018, according to the Ficci-EY media and entertainment industry report. Digital news consumers grew 26% year-on-year in 2018, while page views rose 59% and average time spent increased almost 100% to 8 minutes per day.
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