Import means bringing goods from outside India or goods brought from foreign territory to Indian territory for monetary consideration in foreign currency in order to meet the demands of the people. There can be the import of goods as well as the import of services. The imported goods will be covered under the customs act, and customs duty will be levied on them. In case services are imported, they will be covered under the GST act, and IGST will be levied on them.

In the case of exports of goods, the goods are sold from India to a place outside India. Normally exports of goods are duty-free, but in some cases, it is levied at negligible rates. Moreover, the input tax credit is refundable in the export of goods under the GST tax regime.

he evolution of exports can be traced back to the era of the 18th century when the economies started shifting to liberalisation. The father of Economics, i.e., Adam Smith, wrote in his book “The Wealth of the Nation” in 1776 that he brought international trade into the picture.