No basic Customs duty for cobalt powder, lithium-ion battery waste, scrap, and 12 other critical minerals

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday proposed to extend duty exemptions on capital goods used in the production of lithium-ion batteries.

The move is aimed at aiding domestic manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries, a key component in electric vehicles and mobile phones.

"To the list of exempted capital goods, I propose to add 35 additional capital goods for EV battery manufacturing, and 28 additional capital goods for mobile phone battery manufacturing," she said.

Revamp Moto co-founder and CEO Pritesh Mahajan said the proposal to fully exempt Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on cobalt powder, lithium-ion battery waste, scrap, and 12 other critical minerals is a crucial step in ensuring the availability of key raw materials for domestic manufacturing.

This will not only lower production costs but also incentivise companies to scale up operations, drive technological advancements, and create high-value job opportunities, he told news agency PTI.