Duty on capital goods may go

NEW DELHI, NOV 18: The government will consider doing away with zero duty on import of capital goods in order to provide a level playing field to the domestic industry, heavy industry minister Manohar Joshi said here today. "I would take up the matter with the finance ministry and if need be, the issue would be taken up with the prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee," Joshi said at a seminar organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry.

Recently, government had allowed some of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and United Nations-aided projects to import capital goods at nil import duty especially in the power and agricultural sector. Government would intervene to support the domestic industry through the transitions period to meet the challenges posed by the expected import surge due to lowering of tariff ceilings consequent to World Trade Organisation agreement, he said.

The concept of `buy Indian products’ was no doubt a good approach, but one will have to keep in mind WTO norms, he said.