ATMA Calls for Restrictions on Waste Tyre Imports to Protect Environment

The Automotive Tyre Manufacturers' Association (ATMA) has raised concerns about India's increasing import of waste tyres, calling for restrictions. ATMA's pre-budget submission highlights environmental and safety issues, and the need for duty-free natural rubber imports to bridge the domestic demand-supply gap.

The Automotive Tyre Manufacturers' Association (ATMA) has urged the government to restrict the import of waste tyres into India, citing environmental and safety concerns. According to ATMA, the country has become a 'dumping ground' for scrap tyres, with imports increasing more than fivefold since FY20-21.

In its pre-budget submission to the finance ministry, ATMA emphasized that the indiscriminate import of waste tyres undermines the Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) Regulation on Waste Tyres, which has been in place since July 2022. ATMA Chairman Arnab Banerjee stressed the need for policy measures to control these imports, suggesting that if necessary, they should only be allowed in a shredded or multiple cut form.

India currently manufactures over 200 million tyres annually and has sufficient domestic capacity for End of Life Tyres (ELT). In FY24 alone, the country imported nearly 1.4 million metric tonnes of waste tyres, which are either resold unsafely or burnt, causing environmental damage. ATMA also called for duty-free imports of natural rubber to meet the industry's demand-supply gap and reform of the inverted duty structure on tyres and natural rubber.

(With inputs from agencies.)