Three-wheeled vehicles imported into India falls under tariff item 8703 23 20. The standard rate of basic customs duty in the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 is 70%, and integrated tax is 40%. On the export side the same code earns RoDTEP at 1.3% of FOB value under Appendix 4R. Below is the whole bill worked at an assessable value of ₹10,00,000, with the base each levy is charged on.
| Level | Description |
|---|---|
| 87 | Chapter 87: Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling-stock, and parts and accessories thereof |
| 8703 | Heading 8703: Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons |
| 8703 23 | Sub-heading 8703 23: Of a cylinder capacity exceeding 1,500 cc but not exceeding 3,000 cc |
| 8703 23 20 | Three-wheeled vehicles. Unit: u. Import policy: Free |
Heading 8703 holds 61 tariff items in this dataset and every one of them carries the same standard rate of 70%, so within this heading the choice of eight digit line does not change the duty.
Put your own assessable value in and the whole stack re-works on this line's own rates: basic customs duty at 70%, the Social Welfare Surcharge charged on that duty rather than on the value, and integrated tax at 40% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 70% | Basic customs duty, of the assessable value | ₹7,00,000 |
| 10% | Social Welfare Surcharge, of the basic customs duty | ₹70,000 |
| 40% | IGST, of value plus the duties above | ₹7,08,000 |
| 0.13% | Compensation cess, of value plus the duties above | ₹2,213 |
| 148.02% | Total duty and tax, as a share of the assessable value | ₹14,80,213 |
The same eight digit code decides what an exporter earns. Appendix 4R to the Handbook of Procedures gives tariff item 8703 23 20 a RoDTEP rate of 1.3% of FOB value, 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.
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 0.8%. 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 Least Developed Countries, the whole bill on ₹10,00,000 falls from ₹14,80,213 to ₹4,01,250.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8703 10 10 | Electrically operated | 70% | 40% | 0.5% |
| 8703 10 90 | Other combustion piston engine | 70% | 40% | 0.5% |
| 8703 21 10 | Vehicles principally designed for the transport of more than seven persons, including the driver | 70% | 18% | 1.3% |
| 8703 21 20 | Three-wheeled vehicles | 70% | 18% | 1.3% |
| 8703 21 91 | Motor cars | 70% | 18% | 0.8% |
| 8703 21 92 | Specialised transport vehicles such as ambulances, prison vans and the like | 70% | 18% | 0.5% |
| 8703 21 99 | Other | 70% | 18% | 0.5% |
| 8703 22 10 | Vehicles principally designed for the transport of more than seven persons, including the driver | 70% | 40% | 1.3% |
| 8703 22 20 | Specialised transport vehicles such as ambulances, prison vans and the like | 70% | 40% | 1.3% |
| 8703 22 30 | Three-wheeled vehicles | 70% | 40% | 1.3% |
| 8703 22 91 | Motor cars | 70% | 40% | 1.3% |
| 8703 22 99 | Other | 70% | 40% | 0.9% |
| 8703 23 10 | Vehicles principally designed for the transport of more than seven persons including the driver | 70% | 40% | 1.3% |
| 8703 23 91 | Motor cars | 70% | 40% | 1.3% |
| 8703 23 92 | Specialised transport vehicles such as ambulances, prison vans and the like | 70% | 40% | 1.3% |
| 8703 23 99 | Other | 70% | 40% | 0.8% |
| 8703 24 10 | Vehicles principally designed for the transport of more than seven persons, including the driver | 70% | 40% | 1.3% |
| 8703 24 20 | Three-wheeled vehicles | 70% | 40% | 1.3% |
| 8703 24 91 | Motor cars | 70% | 40% | 1.3% |
| 8703 24 92 | Specialised transport vehicles such as ambulances, prison vans and the like | 70% | 40% | 1.3% |
| 8703 24 99 | Other internal combustion piston engine (diesel or semi-diesel) | 70% | 40% | 1.3% |
| 8703 31 10 | Vehicles principally designed for the transport of more than seven persons, including the driver | 70% | 18% | 1.3% |
| 8703 31 91 | Motor cars | 70% | 18% | 1% |
| 8703 31 92 | Specialised transport vehicles such as ambulances, prison vans and the like | 70% | 18% | 1.3% |
Bring in ₹10,00,000 of three-wheeled vehicles and customs will ask for ₹14,80,213, which is 148.02% 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 ₹14,80,213 above, exactly ₹7,00,000 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 ₹7,80,213 is paid in cash.
A scrip bought below face value therefore saves that discount on ₹7,00,000, not on ₹14,80,213. 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 "125%". 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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