India cuts scrap import duties

Archiv – In its latest budget, the Indian government has abolished import duties on scrap metal in a bid to provide some relief from soaring raw material prices. The 5% duty on iron, steel melting scrap and aluminium scrap has been removed while the general rate of excise duty has been cut from 16% to 14%.
of excise duty was cut to 14% from 16%. India | In its latest budget, the Indian government has abolished import duties on scrap metal in a bid to provide some relief from soaring raw material prices. The 5% duty on iron, steel melting scrap and aluminium scrap has been removed while the general rate of excise duty has been cut from 16% to 14%.
’The cost of non-ferrous metals has gone up, and these moves will also give some relief to working capital,’ comments Surendra Mardia, President of the Bombay Metal Exchange, whose members include metal dealers, processors and fabricators.
The international price of copper has more than doubled over the past year while aluminium has increased by around a third. Meanwhile, the cost of steel scrap has nearly doubled to US$ 500 per tonne. According to metals and mining analyst Pawan Burde, removal of the duty will benefit small firms as they will be in a position to cut their dependence on iron ore.
Meanwhile, the export duty on chromium ores has been raised to US$ 75 per tonne from US$ 50. Each year, India exports around 1.3 million tonnes of chromium ore, which is used in making ferro-chrome and, in turn, stainless steel.
India’€™s metal manufacturing industry has lobbied for a halt to exports of raw materials such as iron ore and chromium, arguing that overseas shipments threatened domestic firms’€™ supply. Despite the lobbying efforts of the steelmakers, however, there was no change to the export duties of 300 rupees and 50 rupees per tonne on, respectively, high- and low-grade iron ore which were introduced in last year’€™s budget.