Government gives nod for 40,000 tonnes of natural rubber imports

18 Jul 2011 Evaluate

Government has allowed imports of 40,000 tonnes of natural rubber at a concessional duty of 7.5 per cent for the current fiscal, similar to the one allowed last fiscal. The move follows demand from the user industry, particularly tyre manufacturers, to allow import of two lakh tonnes duty-free.

Last fiscal, the import duty regime was put in place in December for a similar quantity of 40,000 tonnes. Since April 1 this year, the Customs duty on natural rubber has been fixed at 20 per cent or Rs 20 a kg, whichever is lower.

However, the industry is not happy with the decision as only 40,000 tonnes of rubber has been allowed for import against a demand to permit two lakh tones. The industry has been asking the Finance Ministry and Government of India for the removal of customs duty on rubber because of shortage of rubber in the country. The import will meet consumers' need for just 15 days, going by the consumption of 80,500 tonnes in June.

In the first quarter this fiscal, rubber imports almost doubled to 38,233 tonnes compared with 19,118 tonnes during the same period a year ago. Production in the first quarter was 1,75,700 tonnes, up 5.4 per cent over the same period last year. In comparison, consumption was 2.44 lakh tonnes, up nearly four per cent year-on-year.

© 2025 The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. MoneyWorks4Me ® is a registered trademark of The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd.

×