Import duties in India at a glance

Import duties are taxes levied on goods transported across international borders. India is known for its relatively high import duties, which average between 25 and 30%. For alcohol, cars and other luxury goods, the levies are even higher, at 40%.

India revises some of its high import duties in 2025-2026

In 2020, partly due to the pandemic, the Indian government raised a significant number of import duties, including those on toys, footwear, household goods, and household appliances. At the time, this was done in an attempt to make India more self-sufficient, curb inflation, and reduce the current account deficit.

Some of these high tariffs are still in place five years later, but Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has reviewed a significant number of import tariffs this year. For example, import duties on items such as gold, silver, mobile phones, medicines, medical equipment, batteries for electric vehicles, and raw materials for the leather and textile industries have been reduced.

In addition, the duty-free export period for goods of foreign origin imported for repairs has been extended from six months to one year, with an additional one-year extension. This is beneficial for foreign companies that do not or only partially manufacture in India but do sell there.

The reason for relaxing these rules is the Indian government’s desire to attract more international manufacturers. It is already doing this by offering cheap land and special tax breaks. For international companies that want to avoid high Indian import duties, it may therefore be interesting to set up their own factory or production site.

Calculating import duties

What customs duty rate applies to your goods depends on several factors, including where the goods were purchased, where they were made and what they were made of. Generally, the import duty payable on your product is the sum of six different taxes. This illustrative example shows how such a calculation is made:

How to pay import duties in India

As an international exporter, you can now easily pay your import duties online by following these steps:

• Log in to ICEGATE’s e-payment portal
• Enter the import or export code or enter the login details provided by ICEGATE.
• Now click on the e-payment button
• You will then be able to see all the e-challans under your name.
• You can then choose the challan you want to pay and select the payment method, after which you will be redirected to the payment gateway.
• Once the payment is made, you will be redirected back to the ICEGATE portal.
• Finally, click on the Print button and save your payment copy.

Are you encountering a specific problem with your exports, or are you unsure how much import duty you will have to pay when exporting your product to India? Our experts will be happy to assist you with your first steps in the Indian market. Feel free to contact us here.