New Delhi: The PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) on Tuesday participated in a pre-Budget consultation meeting for the Union Budget 2027-28, where it recommended a series of customs duty reforms aimed at enhancing India’s position as a globally competitive manufacturing hub.
During the meeting held by the Tax Research Unit of the Revenue Department under the Ministry of Finance, the industry body highlighted the need to rationalise duties on critical industrial raw materials and energy inputs.
It said such measures would help reduce manufacturing costs, improve energy security, strengthen domestic value chains and enhance India’s global competitiveness.
As part of its recommendations, PHDCCI proposed reducing the basic customs duty on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), heavy petroleum feedstocks and naphtha to zero from the current 2.5 per cent.
It also called for rationalisation of customs duties on petroleum coke used in industrial manufacturing and sought continuation of the existing basic customs duty structure on steel scrap beyond March 2028.
The chamber noted that these inputs play a crucial role across a wide range of sectors, including energy, fertilisers, steel, aluminium, petrochemicals, infrastructure, construction, textiles and engineering.
According to the industry body, the availability, affordability and quality of essential industrial inputs have a direct bearing on India’s manufacturing competitiveness and investment attractiveness.
PHDCCI said customs duties on key raw materials and intermediate goods can significantly influence production costs, investment decisions and the overall competitiveness of downstream industries.
A more streamlined duty structure, it added, would help improve cost efficiencies across interconnected manufacturing value chains.
The chamber further emphasised that targeted duty reforms could encourage fresh investments in domestic processing capacities, strengthen supply-chain resilience and contribute to broader national goals such as industrial growth, energy security and higher value addition within the country.
The recommendations form part of the industry’s submissions to the government as it begins consultations for the Union Budget 2027-28.
(IANS)
