Extends exemption from basic customs duty & CVD indefinitely, to give relief to hard-pressed industry

The Finance Bill passed by the Lok Sabha yesterday, to give effect to the Union Budget proposals, has removed the 2014 time bar it had earlier proposed on the duty exemption for thermal coal. In its earlier Budget proposals, the finance ministry sought to exempt thermal coal (also called steam coal, and used in thermal power generation) from the basic customs duty of five per cent and the concessional countervailing duty of one per cent till March 31, 2014.