India set to allow cheaper wines, cars from Europe !!!

Now one can hope to drive in the latest Audi or BMW at a considerably lower price as the government may lower the import duty to 30% in 2017 and scale it down further to 20% in 2020 as part of the Broad-based Trade & Investment Agreement (BTIA) with the 27 nation bloc. Similarly, customs duty on "high-end" wine is proposed to be slashed to 30% from near 150% levels now. Although the move may not be palatable to local players, for consumers, this could mean an endless party as anything that costs over $3.75 a bottle is likely to be subjected to lower import duty. The steep reduction will make life difficult life for local players, especially at a time when home-grown barons such as Vijay Mallya too have been forced to sell stakes to global giants. In case of automobiles, when to reduce import duty to 30% is a bone of contention. EU is demanding that the levy be slashed to that level in 2017 itself, while Indian negotiators had got the Trade & Economic Relations Committee headed by the prime minister to agree to the cut sometime around 2022. The current tariff for import of automobiles is 100%, although the notified rate, which is applied to new cars, is 60%.