Government Slashes Customs Duties to Boost Critical Minerals Sector

The government has announced the waiving of customs duties on 25 critical minerals, including lithium, copper, and nickel, and reduced the import tariff on two other minerals. This move aims to enhance the processing and availability of these minerals crucial for sectors like renewable energy and telecommunications.

The government on Tuesday announced the waiving of customs duties on 25 critical minerals, including lithium, copper, and nickel, and reduced the import tariff on two other minerals, including graphite.

This initiative aims to boost the processing and refining of critical minerals, ensuring their availability for strategic sectors such as renewable energy, nuclear energy, and telecommunications.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted the importance of this move during her budget speech, emphasizing the zeroing out of Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on several critical minerals and the reduction in tariffs for graphite and silicon quartz/silicon dioxide.

(With inputs from agencies.)