New Delhi: Kelkar task force on direct and indirect taxes on December 27 recommended three slabs of Customs duties including zero per cent duty for life-saving drugs and 10 per cent for raw materials and intermediate goods within two years.

Setting the roadmap for tax reforms, the Kelkar panel in its report submitted to the Finance Minister, proposed that zero, 10 and 20 per cent customs duty slabs in the next two years should be modified to 5, 8 and 10 per cent levels by 2006-07.

The panel also proposed special import regime for petroleum products.

For the small-scale industries, it recommended cleansing of the duty structure and steps for minimising harassment and to provide that no arrests can be made without magisterial approval.

PTI