Cotton imports made duty-free till Sept 30

The government has waived the 11 per cent duty on raw cotton imports till September 30 to ease supply pressures on the textile industry. The relief coincides with Indian exporters facing a steep 50 per cent tariff in the US

Govt allows duty free import of cotton till Sept 30

New Delhi: The government has allowed duty-free import of raw cotton till September 30 to improve the availability of the key raw material for the textile sector. Cotton was so far subject to an 11 per cent import duty along with the Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess (AIDC).

---

According to a Finance Ministry notification dated August 18, the duty exemption will take effect from August 19 and shall remain in force till September 30. The scrapping of the import duty is expected to ensure raw material availability at globally competitive rates for the textile sector. Domestically, the sector also faces duty inversion under the GST regime.

The import duty relief by India comes at a time when Indian exporters, including the textile sector, face a steep 50 per cent duty in the US. The US tariff comprises an existing 25 per cent levy and an additional 25 per cent, which will take effect from August 27, imposed as a penalty for India’s purchases of Russian oil.