Cotton Import Duty Exemption Extended Till 30 September
19-Aug-2025 11:45 AM
New Delhi. In view of the 25 percent tariff imposed in the US and the strong demand of the indigenous cotton textile industry, the Central Government has decided to exempt cotton imports from customs duty.
A notification issued by the Revenue Department of the Union Finance Ministry said that the basic customs duty, entire agricultural infrastructure duty and development cess imposed on the import of cotton have been suspended. This decision (order) will be effective from 19 August to 30 September 2025.
This means that from today till the end of next month, there will be no customs duty on the cotton imported from abroad. This will provide relief to the Indian textile industry.
A basic customs duty of 10 percent and an agricultural infrastructure duty and development cess of 1 percentage point (10 percent of the basic customs duty) - that is, a total of 11 percent duty was imposed on the import of cotton, which has been suspended from today.
The current marketing season will end on 30 September 2025. India has already imported more than 30 lakh bales (each bale of 170 kg) of cotton and now after getting exemption from customs duty, the import quantity can increase rapidly. The price of cotton is relatively soft in the international market.
According to the Cotton Association of India, the import cost of good quality cotton from Brazil at Indian ports is Rs 51,000 per candy (356 kg), but due to customs duty, its price increases to around Rs 56,000 per candy. Now if customs duty is not imposed, the cost of the textile industry will decrease.
America is an important market for Indian textile products, but it has imposed a tariff of 25 percent on goods imported from India from August 7 and has announced to impose an additional tariff of 25 percent from August 27.
This will make India's textile products expensive in the American markets and Indian exporters will face a lot of difficulty in facing the competition from other supplier countries. Exemption from import duty on cotton will definitely provide some relief to the exporters.