Connect with us
Sunday,16-November-2025
Breaking News

Business

Budget 2022: Increase in custom duty on Aluminium scrap from 2.5 to 10% is key expectation

Published

on

Steel Industry

Steel Industry.

As the Indian economy pushes forward to grow at 9 per cent and above over the next few years, a key challenge for the country would be to rebalance its energy needs in favour of renewable sources by 2030 to 50 per cent as per the Paris agreement.

This is where the Aluminium sector will play a greater than ever before role. Extensive growth in electric vehicles, renewables, modern infrastructure, energy efficient consumer goods and greater dependence on strategic sectors such as aerospace and defence, will drive Aluminium consumption to grow at CAGR of 10 per cent or more. For example, Aluminium usage in EV battery is 40-50 per cent more than a normal ICE. Being 3 times lighter than steel it aids in fuel efficiency making it an efficient choice for EVs.

However, the Indian aluminium industry is struggling to revive itself over the last two years following the unprecedented Covid pandemic. The declining domestic producers market share with surging imports coupled with significant cost escalation for primary producers due to a rise in input costs of critical raw materials, escalating ocean freights & logistics costs due to container shortage, current coal crunch situation etc, is restricting the industry’s ability to support the future of the country at a time when India cannot rely on import sources alone to fuel this growth.

To give relief to the sector, there is a need for urgently looking at the duty structure. The basic custom duty on Aluminium and Aluminium scrap is not in line with other non-ferrous metals like Zink, lead, nickel and tin which is a huge disadvantage for domestic Aluminium producers. The industry expects increase in tariff rate of basic custom duty or peak custom duty rate from existing 10 per cent to 15 per cent. Currently custom duty on Primary Aluminium is 7.5 per cent, Downstream Aluminium is 7.5 per cent to 10 per cent and Aluminium scrap is only 2.5 per cent. This is the reason why despite having significant presence of primary Aluminium capacity and potential to generate sufficient domestic scrap, India’s consumption of scrap is 100 per cent import dependent. The way forward is to increase custom duty on Aluminium srap from 2.5 to 10 per cent.

Primary aluminium industry is facing severe threat from the increasing import of Aluminium scrap. The share of scrap in total imports increased from 52 per cent in FY-16 to 66 per cent in FY-21. resulting in Forex Outgo of $2 billion (Rs 15,000 crore).

What is also affecting the Indian industry is China’s renewed measures to restrict Scrap imports through National Sword Policy, which is leading to greater inflow of scrap into India. China imposed 25 per cent duty on Aluminium Scrap imports from USA, and classified Aluminium Scrap in restricted import list from July, 2019, with plan to completely ban all scrap and waste imports. Post that the share of import from the US in China’s total Aluminium scrap imports has declined from 53 per cent in 2017 to just 16 per cent in 2019. India has overtaken China as world’s largest aluminium scrap importer due to Chinese measures. As a result, entire global scrap chain is shifted to India in absence of any quality or BIS standards for scrap recycling/ usage and imports in the country. A major threat is from US scrap imports, as US is diverting large volume of scrap to India, since EU and other developed countries have stringent standards for scrap. The import from US as share of India’s total scrap imports increased from 8 per cent in FY16 to 24 per cent in FY21.

This precarious situation can be resolved by safeguarding the domestic industry against these non-essential imports in the upcoming union budget.

The industry demands increasing the basic custom duty on Chapter-76 (Aluminium & articles).

Business

ED arrests real estate firm MD in PMLA case, accused sent to 14-day custody

Published

on

New Delhi, Nov 15: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Ocean Seven Buildtech Pvt. Ltd. (OSBPL) Managing Director Swaraj Singh Yadav after conducting searches at nine locations across Delhi-NCR and other regions in a money-laundering probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, an agency statement said on Saturday.

The action stems from allegations that Yadav diverted and laundered funds collected from homebuyers across multiple projects, including those under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).

The searches on Thursday led to the recovery of Rs 86 lakh in cash, suspected to be proceeds of crime, along with incriminating documents and digital evidence.

According to the ED, Yadav orchestrated a large-scale diversion of homebuyer funds through fraudulent cancellation and resale of units at inflated prices, cash-based premiums collected outside banking channels, and misuse of escrow accounts.

He allegedly routed substantial sums into shell entities and concealed cash proceeds with relatives, the ED statement said.

Investigators also found a pattern of rapid liquidation of assets held personally and through company entities in Gurugram, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, which the agency believes was intended to secure illicit gains and evade legal scrutiny.

His wife and children have already relocated to the United States, the probe revealed.

The agency said Yadav operated a dual-payment mechanism in the resale of PMAY flats and even in the sale of parking spaces — routing only nominal amounts through banks while collecting the bulk in cash. These activities form part of a wider probe linked to multiple FIRs alleging cheating, forgery, and other predicate offences.

Following his arrest, Yadav was produced before the Court of ASJ-06 at Patiala House Courts on Friday, in compliance with Supreme Court directions.

After detailed submissions from both sides and a pass-over granted to allow him legal assistance, the court sent him to ED custody for 14 days, until November 28.

The agency has been directed to produce him before the court at 2 p.m. on the date of expiry of remand.

The ED said it is pursuing further investigation to trace, freeze, and attach assets acquired from the laundered funds, to ensure recovery and restitution to affected homebuyers.

Continue Reading

Business

IndiGo to start flights from Navi Mumbai International Airport from Dec 25

Published

on

Mumbai, Nov 15: Low-cost airline IndiGo on Saturday announced flight operations from the newly-opened Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) starting December 25, connecting the airport to 10 cities across the country.

IndiGo will connect the future-ready airport to 10 cities, including Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, North Goa (Mopa), Jaipur, Nagpur, Cochin, and Mangalore, the airline said in a statement.

The airline said it plans to expand operations at NMIA progressively by adding direct routes to more destinations in due course.

NMIA, the second airport in the Mumbai metropolitan area, is designed to complement Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and meet growing demand for air travel from India’s financial capital.

NMIA is expected to enhance regional connectivity and support economic development in western India due to its strategic location.

By enhancing regional connectivity and supporting economic development in western India, the launch of IndiGo’s operations will connect the airport to its vast domestic network of 95 airports across the country, it added.

The Navi Mumbai International Airport was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month, as a major achievement in India’s economic development and “a symbol of Bharat’s aspirations”.

PM Modi said that Mumbai welcomed its second international airport, marking a significant milestone in its journey to becoming Asia’s premier connectivity hub. “Through this new airport, the farmers of Maharashtra will be able to connect with supermarkets in Europe and the Middle East as well,” he observed.

NMIA will ease congestion at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and significantly increase India’s aviation capacity.

The Navi Mumbai International Airport Private is designed to accommodate both domestic and international passengers, featuring state-of-the-art facilities. It includes a 3,700-metre runway capable of handling large commercial aircraft, modern passenger terminals, and advanced air traffic control systems.

Continue Reading

Business

Stock markets end week on a strong note as NDA secures landmark win in Bihar

Published

on

Mumbai, Nov 15: Indian equity markets ended the week on a strong note, with benchmark indices gaining on the resolution of the US government shutdown, supported by strong domestic fundamentals, better-than-expected Q2 earnings, easing inflation and NDA’s historic victory in Bihar, according to analysts.

Record-low October inflation reinforced expectations of an RBI rate cut, adding momentum to domestic equities.

According to Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, sectoral momentum was broad-based, led by gains in IT, Pharma, healthcare and Auto stocks.

“Toward the week’s close, the NDA’s Bihar election victory bolstered investor confidence, but fading expectations of a U.S. Fed rate cut triggered profit booking in IT stocks, tempering their earlier gains,” he mentioned.

The indices remained under pressure for most of the session on Friday, oscillating between losses and brief recoveries, before a strong late-afternoon rebound pushed them into the green.

Volatility picked up as markets tracked the Bihar election outcome, the day’s key trigger.

Sentiment was also weighed down by weak global cues after Wall Street fell sharply overnight, led by declines in Nvidia and other tech majors as investors dialled back hopes of near-term rate cuts amid lingering inflation worries, according to a note by Bajaj Broking Research.

At close, the Sensex ended 84 points or 0.1 per cent higher at 84,563, while the Nifty finished 31 points up at 25,910. Sectoral trends were mixed, with PSU banks leading gains at 1.17 per cent, followed by firm moves in pharma and FMCG.

Energy and infrastructure saw mild upticks. On the downside, IT declined 1.03 per cent, while auto, metal, and realty ended lower.

Among the broader market space, Nifty Small-cap 100 rose 0.38 per cent, while the Midcap 100 gained 0.08 per cent.

According to analysts, Nifty on the weekly chart has formed a strong bull candle with a higher high and a higher low signaling pullback after two weeks of corrective decline, “in line with our expectations from the key support area of 25,400-25,300”.

Going ahead, bias continues to remain positive and a follow through strength above last month high of 26,100 will open upside towards the previous all-time high of 26,277 in the coming week.

Looking ahead, market direction will hinge on key macro triggers such as India’s PMI data, US jobless claims, FOMC minutes and progress on US–India trade negotiations.

Continue Reading

Trending