Page 66 - Plastics News July 2026

IN THE NEWS

Customs Duty Exemption on Petrochem

s the situation is gradually normalizing, Pharmaceuticals: Waiving duties on raw materi-
to ensure a smooth and non-disruptive als like Methanol and Anhydrous Ammonia helps
Atransition for the affected sectors, it has companies maintain affordable production of
been decided to extend the said exemption by life-saving medicines.
a further period of 15 days, that is, till 15th July
2026.The list of products covered remains the Plastics & Packaging: By removing tariffs on pol-
same as notified earlier. ymers and feedstocks (e.g., Styrene and Tolu-
ene), local molders and packaging units avoid
The Government had earlier provided a full sudden price hikes on their primary materials.
Customs Duty exemption on imports of critical
petrochemical products till 30th June 2026, as Steel & Automotive: The government is evaluat-
a temporary and targeted relief in view of the ing further duty cuts for steel inputs to support
conflict in West Asia and the consequent disrup- heavy manufacturing and automotive compo-
tions in global supply chains. nent producers.

The exemption was provided to ensure suffi- Chennai’s Plastic Bottle Recycling Initiative
cient availability of petrochemicals in the domes- In a major step forward for urban waste man-
tic market as Indian petroleum companies had agement, Chennai has deployed an advanced
been asked to concentrate on the production of network of smart Reverse Vending Machines
LPG during this period. (RVMs) across high-footfall areas, including

The Government remains committed to sup-
porting India's manufacturing sector. As before,
the exemption is expected to benefit a wide
range of sectors dependent on petrochemical
feedstock and intermediates, including plastics,
packaging, textiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals,
automotive components and other manufactur-
ing segments. This will also provide relief to con-
sumers of final products.

The zero-duty policy directly lowers input costs
for key downstream industries across the coun-
try, especially in and around major manufacturing
hubs like Thane and the broader Mumbai-Pune
industrial corridor. The temporary relief benefits
local businesses in the following ways:

70 PLASTICS NEWS July 2026