Budget 2027: Customs Duty Relief on 118 Goods Faces Review

India has begun reviewing basic customs duty concessions and exemptions covering 118 products ahead of the 2027-28 Union Budget, a move that could reset landed costs for importers and reshape cargo flows through the country’s ports and inland container depots. The exercise covers a statutory review of concessions that expire on 31 March and 30 September 2027, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Line ministries have approached industry to seek inputs on whether each exemption or concessional rate should continue, be withdrawn or be allowed to lapse. The basic customs duty rate on the goods under scrutiny ranges up to 30 per cent.

The review splits the list into two distinct categories. Customs duty concessions and concessional rates on 32 products are up for statutory review, including certain fish oil, shuttleless looms and open cells used to manufacture interactive flat panel displays. The remaining 86 goods carry unconditional exemptions — full duty waivers that do not require importers to meet any post-import conditions.

Unconditional exemptions under review include fuel oil, urea, some medicines, stents and probiotics, as well as waste and scrap of critical minor metals such as gallium and germanium and waste of lithium-ion batteries. Other items on the combined list include goods required to set up power projects, components for panel display modules, textile machinery, battery scrap, certain photovoltaic cells, drugs and optical fibre cables.

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