Government hikes Customs duty on bamboo imports by agarbatti manufacturers

Union Government has hiked Customs duty on bamboo imports by agarbatti manufacturers from 10 per cent to 25 per cent with immediate effect. Finance Ministry has said that the decision has been taken to encourage the use of domestic bamboo under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat scheme.

Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs has said, "Customs duty on bamboo imports by agarbatti manufacturers hiked from 10% to 25% with immediate effect to encourage the use of domestic bamboo for AatmaNirbhar Bharat. The 25% customs duty rate shall now uniformly apply to any import of bamboo, including by traders."

The 25 per cent customs duty rate shall now uniformly apply to any import of bamboo, including by traders. The government said the uniform rate will help in avoiding misuse and rate-related disputes.

Anurag Thakur, MoS Finance & Corporate Affairs, in a tweet, said, "Uniform rate will help in avoiding misuse and rates related disputes. This measure will benefit farmers immensely. MSME agarbatti manufacturers will also to gain, as earlier only the large agarbatti manufacturers were able to import bamboo at a lower rate."

This measure is seen to benefit farmers and MSME agarbatti manufacturers.