Duty Benefits on New Zealand Imports Withdrawn

26-Dec-2025 12:08 PM

New Delhi. India and New Zealand are likely to sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) within the next three months. Meanwhile, the Indian government has decided not to extend the period of customs duty concessions on several sensitive products imported from New Zealand, including dairy products, sugar, vegetables, copper, and aluminum.

This will provide relief to Indian farmers and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Both countries have announced that negotiations for the FTA have concluded and the agreement is expected to come into effect next year.

According to official sources, under this agreement, India has retained several important products on the protected list, including dairy products such as liquid milk, cream, butter, cheese, and yeast, as well as chickpeas, peas,

maize, sugar, artificial honey, onions, oils, textiles, and vegetables. While imports of these products are not banned, they will be subject to the same customs duties applicable to other countries. This means New Zealand exporters will not receive any special concessions.

However, India has agreed to allow market access for certain agricultural products under the Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) system and Minimum Import Price (MIP), which are usually kept on the restricted list.

These include honey, apples, kiwis, and milk albumin, which is widely used in the production of medicines/pharmaceuticals and yeast protein. It is noteworthy that New Zealand has refused to grant a Geographical Indication (GI) tag or a single certificate for Indian Basmati rice.