AatmaNirbhar Bharat: Government hikes import duty on bamboo sticks to 25%

Customs duty on bamboo imports by agarbatti manufacturers has been hiked to 25 percent from the existing 10 percent with immediate effect. The move is to encourage the use of domestic bamboo under the AatmaNirbhar Bharat programme. The 25 percent customs duty rate will now uniformly apply on any import of bamboo, including by traders, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs said in a tweet.

“Uniform rate will help in avoiding misuse and rates related disputes. This measure will benefit farmers immensely. MSME agarbatti manufacturers also to gain, as earlier only the large agarbatti manufacturers were able to import bamboo at lower rate @nsitharamanoffc,” another tweet read.

Reports suggest that import duty on bamboo sticks, primarily from China and Vietnam were brought down from 10 percent from 30 percent in 2011. This reduction saw the domestic agarbatti industry import bamboo sticks and raw agarbattis worth nearly Rs 800 crore annually.