The Government of India has exempted 10 lakh metric tonnes (10,00,000 MT) of Raw Sugar, falling under Tariff Heading 1701, from the whole of the customs duty leviable under the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, when imported under the Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) Scheme.
The Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue, has issued Notification No. 30/2026-Customs dated 21 August 2026 in this regard.
The exemption has been provided by the Central Government in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of Section 25 of the Customs Act, 1962, on being satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest to do so.
Under the notification, Raw Sugar falling under Tariff Heading 1701 can be imported up to an aggregate quantity of 10,00,000 MT without payment of the customs duty leviable under the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, subject to fulfilment of the prescribed conditions.
The benefit of the exemption will be available only for imports made under the Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) mechanism and in accordance with the conditions stipulated in the Annexure to the notification.
As per the prescribed conditions, the TRQ shall be allotted to the importer by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) in accordance with the relevant procedure specified in the Hand Book of Procedures, 2023.
The TRQ authorisation is required to contain details including the name and address of the importer, Importer-Exporter Code (IEC), Customs notification number, applicable tariff heading, quantity and validity period of the certificate.
The TRQ authorisation will also be electronically shared by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade with the Indian Customs EDI System (ICES). Imports against the allotted TRQ will be permitted only upon electronic debiting of the quantity in the ICES system.
The notification shall come into force with immediate effect and will remain in force up to and inclusive of 31 October 2026.
The measure provides for duty-free import of a specified quantity of Raw Sugar under the TRQ framework, subject to compliance with the prescribed DGFT authorisation and Customs procedures.
The Notification can be accessed at: https://taxinformation.cbic.gov.in/view-pdf/1010743/ENG/Notifications
