duty

A tax on imports, exports, or consumption goods. Bloomberg Financial Dictionary

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There are two main types of duty collected by HM Customs and Excise: one is 'import duty', which is duty charged on goods imported into the European Union ( EU); and the other is 'excise duty', which is a UK tax on certain types of goods, such as alcohol or tobacco. HM Customs & Revenue Glossary

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duty du‧ty [ˈdjuːti ǁ ˈduː-] noun duties _PLURALFORM

1. [countable usually plural] something that you have to do as part of your job:

• Thomas J Hutchison was named chief executive officer, adding to his duties as president and chief operating officer.

— see also breach of duty

fiˌduciary ˈduty [uncountable] LAW

the legal duty of someone who is responsible for the assets of others to protect their interests — see also breach of fiduciary duty

2. [countable, uncountable] TAX a tax you pay on something you buy, import etc:

• Democrats want these imported vans classified as trucks and hit with a 25% duty.

• Duty is levied (= charged ) on every bottle of wine brought into the country.

ad vaˌlorem ˈduty [æd væˈlɔːrəm ˌdjuːti ǁ -ˌduː-] [countable, uncountable] TAX

duty calculated as a percentage of the value of goods, rather than on their weight or the number of units

ˌcounterˈvailing ˌduty [countable, uncountable] TAX

a tax on goods brought into a country that is intended to protect an industry in that country from competition from abroad

ˈcustoms ˌduty [countable, uncountable] TAX

a tax on goods brought into a country that is used to raise money for the government and to protect industries in the country from competition from abroad; = CUSTOMS TARIFF:

• Privately imported cars are subject to a 19% customs duty.

ˈdeath ˌduties [plural] TAX

in Britain, taxes that must be paid by someone who is left property or money by someone who has died

disˈcriminating ˌduty [countable, uncountable] TAX

a tax on goods brought into a country which varies according to the country that the goods are coming from

esˈtate ˌduty [countable, uncountable] TAX

another name for death duties

ˈexcise ˌduty [countable, uncountable] TAX

a government tax on certain goods such as tobacco, alcoholic drinks, and petrol that are sold in the country

ˈexport ˌduty [countable, uncountable] TAX

tax that is paid on goods leaving a country:

• the export duties collected on timber shipped south to the US

ˈimport ˌduty [countable, uncountable] TAX

a tax on goods coming into a country from abroad, often used by governments as a way of reducing imports and protecting local industries; = IMPORT LEVY; IMPORT SURCHARGE; IMPORT TARIFF:

import duty on

• a US decision to impose import duties on Honda's Canadian-assembled cars

speˈcific ˌduty [countable, uncountable] TAX

duty based on a fixed amount of money for each unit of quantity or weight of a product, rather than its value:

• specific duties on tobacco and alcohol to replace the old ad valorem system

ˈstamp ˌduty [uncountable] TAX

tax that has to be paid in some countries when buying and selling things such as shares, property etc:

• Dealings in the certificates will incur the 1% stamp duty levied on all share dealings.

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Ⅰ.

duty UK US /ˈdjuːti/ US  /ˈduːti/ noun (plural duties)

► [C or U] LAW a responsibility to do something because it is legally or morally right to do it: »

Every lawyer has a strong sense of duty and responsibility.

a duty to do sth »

They have a duty to ensure customers receive sound advice.

be sb's duty »

It is your duty to announce any conflict of interest.

do your duty »

I felt that I had done my duty in reporting the incident to the police.

»

It was alleged that the company had failed in its duty to advise customers of the technical aspects of the paint system.

► [C, usually plural] HR something that you have to do because it is part of your job: »

His duties included photographing engineering projects such as bridges and airfields.

perform/undertake/do duties »

People employed under similar conditions should not be paid less than others performing similar duties.

»

teaching/cleaning/administrative duties

► [U] HR one of the periods of time that a working day is divided into during which someone works: night/day duty »

Daniels volunteered for night duty so he could take classes at the University of Arizona.

► [C or U] TAX, COMMERCE a tax paid on goods that are bought or imported: duty on sth »

He said that duty on a bottle of wine in France is equivalent to 2p compared with £1.16 here.

impose/raise/increase duty »

The duty on house purchases of £250,000 or more was increased to 2.5%.

»

a cut/rise/increase in duty

»

fuel/tobacco/petrol duty

→ See Note TAX(Cf. ↑tax)

● off duty — Cf. off duty

● on duty — Cf. on duty

→ See also BREACH OF DUTY(Cf. ↑breach of duty), COUNTERVAILING DUTY(Cf. ↑countervailing duty), CUSTOMS DUTY(Cf. ↑customs duty), DEATH DUTY(Cf. ↑death duty), DISCRIMINATING DUTY(Cf. ↑discriminating duty), DUTY-FREE(Cf. ↑duty-free), ESTATE DUTY(Cf. ↑estate duty), EXCISE DUTY(Cf. ↑excise duty), EXPORT DUTY(Cf. ↑export duty), HEAVY-DUTY(Cf. ↑heavy-duty), IMPORT DUTY(Cf. ↑import duty), LIGHT-DUTY(Cf. ↑light-duty), MEDIUM-DUTY(Cf. ↑medium-duty), SPECIFIC DUTY(Cf. ↑specific duty), STAMP DUTY(Cf. ↑stamp duty)

Ⅱ.

duty UK US /ˈdjuːti/ US  /ˈduːti/ adjective [before noun]

► HR used to describe the person who is on duty at a particular time: »

duty engineer/manager/solicitor