new delhi the government today slashed customs duty on newsprint by 2 per cent to provide relief to the industry which is facing soaring international prices newspaper industry has represented that the international prices of newsprint have been rising alarmingly i propose to reduce basic customs duty on newsprint from 5 per cent to three per cent finance minister p chidambaram said while winding up debate on the finance bill in the lok sabha in a lighter vein he expressed the hope that the industry would be kind to him print media body ins had requested the government to cut the customs duty on newsprint as global prices are quite high