Govt confirms reduction in duty on US Apple imports

Srinagar, Dec 10: The Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary informed the Parliament that the import of apples currently attracts a customs duty of 50%, which is at par with the World Trade Organization (WTO) bound rate.

The statement came in response to a question raised in Parliament by Srinagar’s member of Parliament Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, who inquired about the impact of reduced import duties on apple imports from the US, its implications for domestic apple farmers in Kashmir, and whether the government plans to increase the import duty to protect domestic producers.

The reply states that the 70% import duty earlier applied only to imports from the United States as a retaliatory measure. This additional duty was removed following the resolution of certain WTO disputes, it added.

The trade statistics for apple imports provided by the Department of Commerce show fluctuating import values over recent years: 36,237 lakh in 2019-20, 25,998 lakh in 2020-21, 16,153 lakh in 2021-22, 4,117 lakh in 2022-23, and 17,716 lakh in 2023-24. For the period April to September 2024, the import value stood at 17,902 lakh.