Travelling to India with a television set will soon become a thing of the past as the Indian government announced plans to impose custom duties on ‘non-essential’ imports.

Non-resident Indians (NRIs) and Indian tourists going back to India with TV sets would be asked to pay a 10 per cent customs duty and 12.5 per cent countervailing duty as part of the new rules. The move is expected to discourage Indians from spending on non-essential products outside India.

Till now, most Indian expatriates would carry a 32” or 42” TV in their free-baggage allowance as the Indian government was allowing a duty-free import of TV sets up to the value of Rs35,000. However, the new rules, taking effect from August 26, would affect NRIs.