Of polypropylene imported into India falls under tariff item 5503 40 00. The standard rate of basic customs duty in the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 is 5%, and integrated tax is 5%. On the export side the same code earns RoDTEP at 2.4% of FOB value under Appendix 4R, capped at ₹3.1 per Kg. Below is the whole bill worked at an assessable value of ₹10,00,000, with the base each levy is charged on.
| Level | Description |
|---|---|
| 55 | Chapter 55: Man-made staple fibres |
| 5503 | Heading 5503: Synthetic staple fibres, not carded, combed or otherwise processed for spinning |
| 5503 40 00 | Of polypropylene. Unit: kg.. Import policy: Free |
Heading 5503 holds 15 tariff items in this dataset and their standard rates run from 2.5% to 5%, so on this heading the eight digit line a consignment is classified under decides what it costs. This line sits at 5%.
Put your own assessable value in and the whole stack re-works on this line's own rates: basic customs duty at 5%, the Social Welfare Surcharge charged on that duty rather than on the value, and integrated tax at 5% on the value plus both. Assessable value is cost, insurance and freight plus landing charges where they apply, not the invoice value on its own.
| Rate | Levy | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 5% | Basic customs duty, of the assessable value | ₹50,000 |
| 10% | Social Welfare Surcharge, of the basic customs duty | ₹5,000 |
| 5% | IGST, of value plus the duties above | ₹52,750 |
| 10.78% | Total duty and tax, as a share of the assessable value | ₹1,07,750 |
The same eight digit code decides what an exporter earns. Appendix 4R to the Handbook of Procedures gives tariff item 5503 40 00 a RoDTEP rate of 2.4% of FOB value, capped at ₹3.1 per Kg, notified by Notification 32/2024-25 and in force from 10 October 2024. Appendix 4R is the schedule for exports from the Domestic Tariff Area.
The cap is not a footnote. The entitlement is the lower of 2.4% of FOB value and ₹3.1 per Kg multiplied by the quantity exported, so a figure worked from the rate alone overstates it on every shipment where the cap binds.
An exporter under an Advance Authorisation, an Export Oriented Unit or a unit in a Special Economic Zone reads Appendix 4RE instead, which puts this line at 1.4%. Which schedule applies is a fact about the exporter, not about the goods, so this page does not choose between them.
Notification 74/2025-26 ran the scheme to 30 September 2026, which has passed, so check DGFT for a continuation notification before relying on the figure above. Rates come from Appendix 4R and Appendix 4RE as DGFT publishes them. Work the entitlement on your own FOB value and quantity.
Where a trade agreement covers this line, the preferential rate replaces the basic customs duty rate, and it pulls the surcharge and the integrated tax down with it. At 0% for Japan, the whole bill on ₹10,00,000 falls from ₹1,07,750 to ₹50,000.
A preference is never automatic. It applies against a valid certificate of origin, and the Customs (Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements) Rules, 2020 put the burden of proving origin on the importer. These are the 2025 schedule.
| Code | Description | Duty | IGST | Export rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5503 11 10 | Aramid Flame Retardant Fibre | 2.5% | 5% | 0.9% |
| 5503 11 20 | Para-aramid Fibre | 2.5% | 5% | 0.9% |
| 5503 11 90 | Other | 5% | 5% | 0.9% |
| 5503 19 10 | Nylon Staple Fibre | 2.5% | 5% | 0.9% |
| 5503 19 20 | Nylon Anti Static Staple Fibre | 2.5% | 5% | 0.9% |
| 5503 19 30 | Nylon 66 fibre conforming to IS 13464 | 2.5% | 5% | 0.9% |
| 5503 19 90 | Other | 5% | 5% | 0.9% |
| 5503 20 00 | Of polyesters | 5% | 5% | 2.4% |
| 5503 30 10 | Pre Oxidised Fibre, conforming to IS 17308 | 2.5% | 5% | 2.4% |
| 5503 30 90 | Other | 5% | 5% | 2.4% |
| 5503 90 10 | Polyvinyl staple fibre | 5% | 5% | 0.9% |
| 5503 90 20 | Polyvinyl chloride staple fibre | 5% | 5% | 0.9% |
| 5503 90 30 | Ultra high molecular weight poly ethylene staple fibre conforming to ASTM F2848 | 5% | 5% | 0.9% |
| 5503 90 90 | Other | 5% | 5% | 0.9% |
Bring in ₹10,00,000 of of polypropylene and customs will ask for ₹1,07,750, which is 10.78% of what the consignment is assessed at. That is not one charge. It is four, and each is charged on a base that includes the ones before it.
Of the ₹1,07,750 above, exactly ₹50,000 can be paid with a RoDTEP or RoSCTL duty-credit scrip instead of cash, because Regulation 6(1) of the Electronic Duty Credit Ledger Regulations, 2021 confines the credit in an e-scrip to duties of customs specified in the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. The remaining ₹57,750 is paid in cash.
A scrip bought below face value therefore saves that discount on ₹50,000, not on ₹1,07,750. How the buy side works, or read what a duty-credit scrip is end to end.
The First Schedule states the duty on this line as "5%". Integrated tax is carried under CBIC notification 009/2025. How the figures in this chapter are checked, and when they were last checked is in the meta line at the top of this page.
This is the tariff arithmetic on a published rate, not an assessment. Goods are assessed by the proper officer under section 17 of the Customs Act, 1962, and valuation, exemption notifications, anti-dumping and safeguard duties can all change what is finally payable. A wrong tariff line makes every number on this page wrong together, so this is not classification advice.
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