Union Budget 2011: Import duty on petcoke, gypsum halved to 2.5%

NEW DELHI: Lending ears to cement makers' plea, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday decided to bring down the import duty on petcoke and gypsum by half to 2.5 percent.

"The basic customs duty on two critical raw materials of this industry viz. petcoke and gypsum is proposed to be reduced to 2.5 percent," Mukherjee said in his Budget speech.

The cement industry has been asking to bring down import duty on gypsum and petcoke to nil from 5 percent now to partly offset the rising manufacturing costs.

Indian cement makers mostly use indigenous gypsum. But, they depend upon import for good quality raw material. The move will help them to bring in more quality gypsum from outside.

Petcoke is used for manufacturing higher grade of cement with the same raw material. It has got higher calorific value compared to coal. Cement makers import around 4 million tonnes of petcoke a year.

The Finance Minister has also proposed to replace the existing excise duty rates with composite rates having an ad valorem and specific component with some rationalisation.