The government announced today that full customs duty exemptions will be provided on critical petrochemical products until June 30th this year, amid the ongoing crisis in the Middle East. Addressing the media at an Interministerial Briefing on Recent Developments in the Middle East, Sanjay Mangal, a member of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, said that this measure is a temporary and targeted relief to ensure the continued availability of critical petrochemical inputs for the domestic industry and to safeguard supply stability in the country. He added that this exemption is expected to benefit a large number of sectors that rely on petrochemicals and intermediate products such as plastics, textiles, and pharmaceuticals. He also stated that this will provide relief to consumers of their final products.
Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Lav Agarwal, informed that exporters who hold Advance Authorizations or Export Promotion Capital Goods authorizations have been given an additional three-month period until August 31st to fulfill their export commitments. He added that no licenses will expire and no penalties will be imposed during this period, which will reduce the stress on exporters. Mr. Agarwal also informed that the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export Products, which had been cut to 50% in February this year, has been restored to 100% effective from April 23rd. He further stated that this will help exporters remain cost-competitive.
Highlighting the measures taken by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), the Additional Secretary said that the validity of the Registration cum Allocation Certificate for basmati exports has been increased by 45 days at no additional cost to exporters. He also informed that the government announced the Resilience and Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation (RELIEF) last month. Mr. Agarwal said that this is aimed at fostering trade continuity, relieving cost burden, and protecting the supply chain.