Press Trust of India
New Delhi, August 7: The government is considering an industry proposal to double the import duty on aluminium products to 10 per cent. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said a representation has been received from the Aluminium Association of India, which has requested for increasing basic customs duty on aluminium products from 5 per cent to 10 per cent.
The association has also pleaded to increase basic customs duty on aluminium scrap to bring it at par with the duty on primary metal, the Minister said. “The same has been sent to the Department of Revenue for necessary action. Earlier requests were examined by Department of Revenue as part of the Budget 2015-16 and had not been acceded to,” she said. Import of aluminium scrap and decreasing price of aluminium in international market has an adverse impact on aluminium industry, the minister said.
Aluminium prices at London Metal Exchange (LME) has declined to $1,600 per tonne as of now from a high of $1,800 seen during the last year. As slowdown in China has raised concerns over demand environment globally, any import of the metal is likely to hurt domestic manufacturers. In 2014-15, India imported 11.20 lakh tonne of aluminium and aluminium products against 13.37 lakh tonne in the previous year.
