MRAI urges govt to remove import duty on aluminium scrap

Metal Recycling Association of India (MRAI) has urged the government to remove 2.5 per cent import duty on aluminium scrap in the upcoming budget for the financial year 2018-19.
"With reference to recently Aluminium Association of India (AAI)in a pre-budget recommendation to the Budget Committee has recommended increase in the Customs Duty on aluminium scrap from 2.50 to 10.00 per cent," MRAI said in a statement.
AAI does not represents the entire stake holders of the aluminium industry in the country, MRAI said, adding that it only represents the primary producers of the sector and "more than 50 per cent stake holders are in the secondary sectors, which are under MRAI.

The increase of duty will have an adverse affect on the small and medium players of the sector who make products such as alloys by recycling as it will shoot up their input cost, it said.
"Hence, we request the government that to save the small and medium players instead of raising the duty it should abolish it and bring it down to zero," MRAI said.
The association further said that Primary aluminium is used in electrical, foils, powder, extrusion etc, whereas the aluminium scrap is mainly used in alloy ingots, which are further used in the automobiles industryand Deox which are used in steel plant for deoxidation.

"At present, the secondary aluminium sector produces around 8.50 lakh tonnes of alloy ingots for automotive Industry and 1 lakh tonne of Deox giving employment to around 1.50 lakh people in India of which around 30 per cent are women workers," MRAI said.
Primary producers fix the price of their product by adding the customs duty also to their basic value. Their only intention for increase of Custom Duty is to get more price from the Indian downstream industry. Also, they are trying to create monopoly in country by restricting the imports of aluminium scrap by increasing the customs duty, it added.