Finance Ministry expands concessional duty list for battery manufacturing equipment
The Ministry of Finance, through the Department of Revenue, has amended the customs notification governing concessional import duty on machinery used for lithium-ion cell manufacturing. The amendment expands the list of eligible equipment to support domestic Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) manufacturing.
The Central Government amended the provisions of Customs Notification No. 21/2002-Customs, originally issued on March 1, 2002, by revising entries under Serial Numbers 69 and 69A of the notification schedule. The revised notification broadens the range of machinery eligible under the concessional customs duty framework.
Expanded equipment list
The revised notification covers machinery used across the lithium-ion cell manufacturing process, including slurry preparation, electrode coating, calendaring, winding, electrolyte filling, cell formation, testing, welding, inspection and packaging.
Eligible equipment includes powder dryers, automatic feeding and blending systems, slurry transfer systems, cathode and anode extrusion coating machines, separator coating machines, cold press machines, automatic electrode production machines, winding machines, electrolyte filling equipment, cell ageing machines, cell formation machines with capacity, State of Charge (SOC) and Direct Current Internal Resistance (DCIR) testing capabilities, cell formation trays, helium testing systems, cell sorting lines, and inspection and packaging systems.
Supporting infrastructure
The amended notification also includes supporting infrastructure required for lithium-ion cell manufacturing facilities. These include solvent recovery systems, heat recovery systems, effluent treatment systems, vacuum ovens, chillers, water sprinkler systems, high-vacuum pumps, racks and other auxiliary equipment.
Support for ACC manufacturing
The amendment comes as India continues to expand domestic ACC manufacturing capacity to reduce dependence on imported battery cells and components. According to the notification, the updated list is intended to facilitate the import of specialised manufacturing equipment under the concessional duty regime.
The notification also specifies the applicable customs tariff classifications for each eligible item. The revised provisions take effect from the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.
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