Deadline Extended for Sugar Importers to Surrender Quota

16-Sep-2026 12:19 PM

New Delhi. The Central Government had permitted millers and refiners to import 1 million tonnes (10 lakh tonnes) of raw sugar this year under the Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) system and had allocated the majority of this volume to them. However, many mills are no longer interested in importing it.

In view of this, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has extended the deadline for sugar importers to surrender (return to the government) their quotas until September 30.

Approval had been granted for the duty-free import of 1 million tonnes of raw sugar under the TRQ. The DGFT has stated that importers who have not yet utilized their quota and do not intend to do so in the future may return their allocated quota by September 30.

Even if only a portion of the allocated quota remains unused, it can be returned. Importers will be required to pay a fee for this; the amount will be 0.5 percent of the estimated value of the allocated sugar, including shipment and insurance costs.

It is worth noting that the government notification authorizing the import of 1 million tonnes of raw sugar stipulated that importers would be required to pay a fee if they chose to surrender their quota. With sugarcane crushing set to begin in the country next month and global sugar prices firming up, some millers wish to surrender their quotas.