Biotech Updates

India Exempts Raw Cotton from Customs Duties

July 11, 2008

In a move to arrest soaring raw cotton prices to help meet target of textile industry, the Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBES) of India's Ministry of Finance has notified scrapping of import duty on cotton and withdrawal of exports incentives effective from 8 July 2008. India imports around 5 millions bales of Extra Long Staple (ELS) raw cotton every year to meet its demand for fine quality cotton from the textile industry. India exported around 8.5 million bales of long and medium staple raw cotton in 2007-08, a significant jump in export over previous year. Import duty on cotton stood at 14% (constituting 10% basic customs duty and 4% special countervailing duty) while export incentive was given in the form of duty drawback which was available for cotton exporters at the rate of 1% of the freight-on-board (FOB) value. This move is expected to help ease cotton supply situation, which has been tight due to increasing exports of cotton from the country. Although India produced 31.5 million bales of cotton in 2007-08, an all time record production after the introduction of Bt cotton hybrids over the last seven years, the cotton prices have jumped sharply due to an unprecedented rise in cotton export on account of increasing demand from China in the current year.

Details of the Notification No. 84 /2008-Customs is available at: http://www.cbec.gov.in/customs/cs-act/notifications/notfns-2k2/cs21-2k2.htm  Details of the Notification No. 21 / 2002-Customs is available at: http://www.cbec.gov.in/customs/cs-act/notifications/notfns-2k8/cs84-2k8.htm
For more information about biotech development in India contact: b.choudhary@isaaa.org and k.gaur@cgiar.org