« Top Headlines » Open DEMAT Account in 24 hrs  Delhi HC Rules GST Registration Cannot Be Cancelled Retrospectively Without a Clear Show Cause Notice (SCN)  Belated income tax return AY 2026-27: How to file, late filing charges and what you may lose  Major Financial Changes from August 1, 2026: ITR Deadline, RBI MPC Meeting, Tatkal Ticket Rules & More  Government proposes to ease tax relief conditions for offshore funds  TallyPrime Connected Banking: Automating Banking and Accounting  ITR Filing Deadline 2026: Is July 31 the Last Date to File Your Income Tax Return? Latest Official Update  ITR filing deadline nears: How to file income tax return online on e-filing portal - quick 15-step guide  Will the ITR Filing Deadline Be Extended Beyond July 31 for FY 2025-26? Here's the Latest Update for Taxpayers  Income Tax Refund Delayed for AY 2026-27? 5 Common Reasons Your Refund May Be Stuck and How to Fix It  ITR Filing 2026: FM Nirmala Sitharaman Asks Tax Officials to Let Honest Taxpayers Correct Genuine Mistakes  Will Your FCNR Deposit Stay Tax-Free After Returning to India? Tax Rules Explained for NRIs «  Securities scam: IT dept moves SC against SBI... Co-opt the young into tax base for high revenues... » Entry for 4,500 LDC items to be tax-free November, 23rd 2007 India will allow tax-free import of over 4,500 items from neighbouring Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives and Bhutan from January 2008, a year before it was scheduled to eliminate taxes for least-developed countries under the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (Safta). Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has also directed the commerce department to examine if the negative list of 744 items (products on which tariffs will not be reduced) could be shortened for LDCs. Afghanistan, too, would be able to benefit from the arrangement as all protocol for formally inducting Afghanistan into FTA would be over by March 2008, minister of state for commerce Jairam Ramesh said. Once Afghanistan becomes a member of Safta, it will automatically benefit as the agreement allows a 30% domestic value addition for exported products while Indias bilateral arrangement with Afghanistan provides for 50%, Mr Ramesh said. Addressing a press conference, the minister said that Indias trade with Afghanistan could multiply provided Pakistan could be roped in. Pakistan, India and Afghanistan could form a triangle for regional development of trade, he said. A trade delegation of 50 Afghan businessmen is currently visiting India. In a seminar organised by Ficci on Wednesday, the delegation expressed interest in collaborating in the area of gems & jewellery and handicrafts & carpets. India and Afghanistan also have a preferential trade agreement in place under which 38 Afghan products receive preferential treatment in India against eight Indian items.