Govt announces full customs duty exemption on critical petrochemical products amid West Asia conflict

The Union government on Thursday announced a full customs duty exemption on a wide range of critical petrochemical products till June 30, 2026. This comes as a temporary measure to support domestic industry amid supply disruptions linked to the West Asia conflict.

This measure has been taken as a temporary and targeted relief in order to ensure continued availability of critical petrochemical inputs for domestic industry, reduce cost pressures on downstream sectors, and safeguard supply stability in the country”, said the Ministry of Finance in a statement.

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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 manufacturing segments. This will also provide relief to consumers of final products, the ministry added.

Industries such as plastics, packaging, textiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and automotive components are expected to benefit from lower input costs.

With this move, basic chemicals like anhydrous ammonia, toluene, styrene, methanol, isopropyl alcohol, acetic acid, phenol and monoethylene glycol (MEG) are included.

It also covers monomers and intermediates such as vinyl chloride monomer, vinyl acetate monomer, purified terephthalic acid (PTA), ethylenediamine, toluene di-isocyanate and linear alkylbenzenes.

The list also included polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) chips, polycarbonates and epoxy resins.

Advanced materials such as acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), polyether ether ketone (PEEK) and polyphenylene sulphide (PPS) are also covered.

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