Aluminium industry urges govt to slap 15 pc customs duty to check surge in imports

New Delhi, Nov 3 (IANS) The Aluminium Association of India (AAI), in a detailed representation to the Ministry of Mines, has called for a flat 15 per cent basic customs duty on aluminium products as the industry is facing a challenge from the surge in imports from surplus nations driven by global tariff and non-tariff protectionist measures.

AAI, in their submission, has highlighted that there has been a jump of over 50 per cent in aluminium imports in the country in the last five years. To safeguard the industry from rising imports and encourage investments, the submission calls for a uniform import duty of 15 per cent on all aluminium products under the relevant categories, along with the enforcement of stringent quality norms for non-standard scrap imports.

Its representation calls for “urgent action to future-proof India’s aluminium industry so that Indian industries can bring in investments worth around Rs 20 lakh crore.”

“These measures are critical to protect domestic manufacturing, prevent India from becoming a dumping ground for poor quality scrap, attract long-term investments, and ensure India’s aluminium industry is self-reliant and doesn’t depend on imports,” the representation states.

According to the Government of India’s Vision 2047 for the sector, aluminium has been identified as a strategic metal crucial to India’s industrial transformation, powering defence, infrastructure, national security, power, aerospace, transportation and overall economic growth.

India’s aluminium demand currently stands at 5.5 million tonnes and is projected to reach 8.5 million tonnes by 2030. According to the 'Aluminium Vision Document', this demand is expected to surge nearly six-fold to 37 million tonnes by 2047, requiring investments exceeding Rs 20 lakh crore to build a self-reliant ecosystem.

However, without swift action, India risks repeating the rare earth scenario seen in China, where strategic materials became trade levers through export restrictions. This challenge is compounded by global trends in ‘scrap nationalism’, where developed economies like the US and Europe retain high-quality scrap for domestic circularity while exporting poor-grade material to countries like India, according to the AAI statement.

This protectionist trend could erode India’s manufacturing base by curtailing future investments and derail its Atmanirbhar Bharat vision. While Global economies are realising the importance of aluminium being a strategic metal and facilitating their domestic industry with tariff and non-tariff barriers, similar measures in India can prevent shortfall of aluminium, which can hamper GDP and infrastructure growth, AAI has further stated.

The association reiterated that a thriving domestic aluminium sector has already generated over 800,000 direct and indirect opportunities and supports 4,000+ MSMEs. Immediate investments worth approximately Rs 2 lakh crore, already in the pipeline, are expected to enhance employment opportunities and support the growth and development of new MSMEs. This will significantly enhance the Government’s ‘Viksit Bharat’ vision by building resilient supply chains.

The submission to the Ministry of Mines follows a similar representation to the Ministry of Finance and DPIIT (Ministry of Commerce), forming part of a coordinated industry effort to push for inter-ministerial alignment on aluminium sector reforms.

--IANS

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