Import duty on cashew nuts, roasted/salted from Dubai (UAE) to India
HS 20081910 · Dubai / UAE → India · FRUIT
Data last updated: · MFN duty & IGST verified against ICEGATE (Indian Customs EDI). CEPA preferential rate per the India–UAE CEPA schedule. Verify your exact HS line before filing.
Duty breakdown on a ₹10,00,000 shipment
Enter your own value to recalculate the table below.
| Component | Standard (MFN) | CEPA |
|---|---|---|
| Basic customs duty | ₹4,50,000 | ₹0 |
| Social Welfare Surcharge | ₹45,000 | ₹0 |
| IGST | ₹74,750 | ₹50,000 |
| Total duty | ₹5,69,750 | ₹50,000 |
CEPA duty saving on this example: ₹5,19,750 . Run your own numbers in the import-duty estimator. New to BCD, SWS and IGST? See the glossary.
What drives the rate
Importing cashew nuts, roasted/salted (HS 20081910) from the UAE to India attracts a 45% MFN basic customs duty, and the India–UAE CEPA preferential rate is 0%. Roasted and salted cashew nuts reach zero basic duty under CEPA, and the UAE is a major cashew re-processing and packaging hub, so this is one of the more realistically claimable concessions in the food basket. The rule is stricter than the corpus norm though — a change of CHAPTER plus 40% value addition — which is significant here because raw kernels and prepared nuts sit in different chapters, so genuine roasting and salting clears the shift limb where re-bagging does not. Verify the precise line: raw and prepared cashew are treated differently across Chapters 8 and 20, and the classification follows the processing rather than the invoice wording. IGST is 5%. FSSAI import licensing and consignment-level clearance apply, with aflatoxin and residue verification at the port, and Indian labelling applied at origin rather than on arrival. India's schedule (Annex 2A, modality TEI) took this line to zero in the agreement's first year, 2022, so the preference is fully phased in and nothing further changes. The preference is worth 49.5% of assessable value on every consignment — the 45-point basic-duty gap plus the 10% Social Welfare Surcharge that rides on it — so it scales with shipment size rather than with effort, and the Certificate of Origin costs the same either way. Social Welfare Surcharge adds 10% on the basic duty, not on the goods, and IGST of 5% then applies to the CIF + BCD + SWS total — IGST is recoverable as input tax credit, so the durable benefit is the basic duty alone. Confirm the live rate on ICEGATE before filing; ₹10,00,000 is only the worked example above.
Import compliance & clearances
Beyond duty, importing cashew nuts, roasted/salted (HS 20081910) into India requires the following regulatory clearances. The CEPA preferential rate does not waive any of these — they apply regardless of origin.
- DGFT Valid IEC (Importer-Exporter Code) required; ITC(HS) import policy: Free source ↗
- FSSAI Importer must hold a valid FSSAI licence; every consignment is cleared through FSSAI food-import at the port source ↗
- FSSAI An FSSAI import licence and food-import clearance are required, with labelling, additive and residue compliance verified at the port before release. source ↗
Indicative and non-exhaustive — verify the current DGFT / BIS / FSSAI / CDSCO notification for your exact 8-digit HS line before importing. Not customs or legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the import duty on cashew nuts, roasted/salted from the UAE to India?
- The standard MFN basic customs duty is 45%; under India–UAE CEPA the preferential rate is 0%. SWS adds 10% on the basic duty and 5% IGST applies on the CIF + BCD + SWS base.
- How much can CEPA save on cashew nuts, roasted/salted?
- On a CIF value of ₹10,00,000, total duty falls from ₹5,69,750 (MFN) to ₹50,000 (CEPA) — about ₹5,19,750 saved per shipment, scaling with consignment value.
- What do I need to claim the CEPA rate on cashew nuts, roasted/salted?
- A valid preferential Certificate of Origin (eCoO 2.0) proving UAE origin under the Rules of Origin. Without it, customs charges the 45% MFN rate.