Most people asking “what is the duty on this” expect one number. There are three, they stack, and the base they are charged on is larger than the invoice you paid your supplier.
The three components
- Basic customs duty (BCD) — set by the HS code for your product. This is the number that varies most, and the one worth getting right before you order.
- Social welfare surcharge (SWS) — 10% of the BCD amount, not of the goods value. On 20% BCD it works out to 2% of assessable value.
- IGST — charged on the assessable value plus BCD plus surcharge. Usually 5, 12, 18 or 28% depending on the category.
What it is charged on
Not the invoice from your supplier. Duty is charged on the assessable value: the cost of the goods plus freight plus insurance, landed at the Indian border. In other words, you pay duty on your shipping too.
This is the single most common surprise for a first consignment. A cheap product with bulky, expensive freight can carry noticeably more duty than the invoice value suggests.
The part that comes back
IGST is usually the largest of the three lines, and if you are GST registered it is not a real cost — it comes back as input tax credit against your output GST. The BCD and the surcharge do not come back. They are the true cost of importing.
That is why comparing a landed cost against a local purchase on the headline duty figure is misleading. Compare on what you never recover.
Why we will not publish a rate table
Because a rate is only true for one HS code on one date. Classification is the whole game: two products that look identical to you can sit under different headings with materially different duty, and the tariff is revised regularly.
Send us the product — a link, a photo, or the supplier spec sheet — and we will confirm the classification and the current rate before you commit to the order, not after the goods have shipped.