Stricter Origin Checks to Curb Illegal Arecanut Imports
10-Dec-2025 02:13 PM
New Delhi. The Central Government has stated that the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) is verifying rules of origin to ensure that US arecanut produced in DFTP countries cannot be imported into India duty-free through countries not covered under the Duty Free Tariff Preference (DFTP) scheme.
Some countries have been granted duty exemptions under trade agreements, but other supplier countries exploit this to illegally export arecanut into India.
It is noteworthy that the current trade agreement allows the import of arecanut from the world's least developed exporting countries into India at zero customs duty, impacting Indian producers. The Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry stated that the Customs Field Formation (CFF) and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence,
a subordinate body of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), are regularly monitoring the illegal transportation of arecanut through air, sea, and land routes to ports in India, and appropriate action is being taken to prevent such imports as per the prevailing rules and regulations.
A total of 21,160 tonnes of arecanut was imported into India from Least Developed Exporting Countries (LDECs) such as Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Bhutan during the financial year 2024-25, representing only about 1.50 percent of India's total production of 1.4 million tonnes.
Previously, 32,238 tonnes of arecanut was imported from these countries in 2022-23. The main reason for this is believed to be the increase in the Minimum Import Price (MIP) for arecanut from Rs 251 per kg to Rs 351 per kg in February 2023.
Citing data from the Directorate of Arecanut and Spices Development, the Minister of State for Commerce said that the average annual price of arecanut in the domestic sector has been above Rs 40,000 per quintal (Rs 400 per kg) for the last four years and there is no sign of it falling significantly.
The minimum import price of Rs 351 per kg for arecanut has been implemented from February 2023, hence the import of cheap arecanut of light or poor quality has been largely curbed in the country.