Export duties are levied occasionally to mop up excess profitability in international prices of goods in respect of which domestic prices may be low at the given time. But the sweep of import duties is quite wide. Import duties are generally of the following types:-

Basic Duty :- it may be at the standard rate or, in the case of import from some other countries, at the preferential rate.

Additional customs duty :- equal to central excise duty leviable on like goods produced or manufactured in India. Additional duty is commonly referred to as Countervailing duty or C.V.D. It is payable only if the imported article is such as, if produced in India, its process of production would amount to 'manufacture' as per the definition in Central Excise Act,1944. Exemption from excise duty has the effect of exempting additional duty of customs.

Additional duty is calculated on a value base of aggregate of value of the goods including landing charges and basic customs duty. Other duties like anti-dumping duty, safeguard duty etc are not taken into account. In case of goods covered by provisions of the Standards of Weights and Measures Act,1976, the value base would be the retail sale price declared on the package of the goods less the rebate as notified under the Central Excise Act,1944 for such goods

True Countervailing duty or additional duty of customs :- is levied to offset the disadvantage to like Indian goods due to high excise duty on their inputs. It is levied to provide a level playing field to indigenous goods which have to bear various internal taxes. Value base for this additional duty would be as in the case of C.V.D, under Customs Tariff Act,1975 minus the retail sale price provision. This additional duty will not be included in the assessable value for levy of education cess on imported goods. Manufacturers will be able to take credit of this additional duty for payment of excise duty on their finished products.

Anti-dumping Duty/ Safeguard Duty :- for import of specified goods with a view to protecting domestic industry from unfair injury. It would not apply to goods imported by a 100% EOU (Export Oriented Units) and units in FTZ (Free Trade Zones) and SEZ (Special Economic Zones). On export of goods, anti-dumping duty is rebatable only by way of a special brand rate of drawback. Safeguard duties do not require the finding of unfair trade practice such as dumping or subsidy on the part of exporting countries but they must not discriminate between imports from different countries. Safeguard action is resorted to only if it has been established that a sudden increase in imports has caused or threatens to cause serious injury to the domestic industry.

Education cess :- at the prescribed rate is levied as a percentage of aggregate duties of customs. If goods are fully exempted from duty or are chargeable to nill duty or are cleared without payment of duty under prescribed procedure such as clearance under bond, no cess would be levied.