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Cotton import duty exemption
What it is
India normally levies 11% on imported cotton including the agriculture cess. Duty was waived from Aug to Dec 2025, then again from 1 Jun to 31 Oct 2026, with zero basic customs duty and zero AIDC on tariff heading 5201
Major Asian competitors already have duty-free cotton access
Impact on industries
- Removes a direct competitive handicap - spinners were paying 11% more for the same fibre than Bangladeshi and Vietnamese rivals
- Improves availability during a persistent domestic demand-supply gap, which matters most to small and mid-size spinners without import scale
- Temporary and repeatedly re-notified, so mills cannot plan raw material sourcing beyond the current window
- It works against cotton farmers, hence the time-boxing around the crop calendar - the structural answer is the Mission for Cotton Productivity, not duty policy