India exempts 'critical minerals' from customs duties

India has exempted 25 "critical minerals" from customs duties, which included battery metals such as cobalt, copper and lithium, citing their importance to strategic industries such renewable energy and high-tech electronics among others.

The exemptions were mentioned in the Indian budget for financial year 2024-25 (April-March) that was proposed by Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman on July 23, and will take effect July 24.

"This will provide a major fillip to the processing and refining of such minerals and help secure their availability for these strategic and important sectors," Sitharaman said.

The minister also said that steel and copper are important raw materials, and to reduce their production costs, the basic customs duties on ferro nickel and blister copper were removed.

Sitharaman said the country will continue with a nil basic customs duty on ferrous scrap and nickel cathode and a concessional basic customs duty of 2.5% on copper scrap.

The minister proposed to remove the basic customs duty on oxygen-free copper for manufacturing resistors "to increase value addition in the domestic electronics industry".

"We will set up a critical mineral mission for domestic production, recycling of critical minerals and overseas acquisition of critical mineral assets. Its mandate will include technology development, skilled workforce, extended producer responsibility framework and a suitable financing mechanism," Sitharaman said.

Source: Ministry of Finance