In order to address the domestic shortage in steelmaking raw materials, India's steel ministry asked the finance ministry to completely cancel import tariffs on coking coal. The proposal to wavier 2.5%-7.5% duties was brought up before the 2023/24 national budget scheduled to be submitted in February 2023. The removal of the import tariffs is likely to significantly improve the supply and costs of key inputs for domestic steel mills.
India’s coking coal imports meet approximately 85% of the national requirements. The cancellation of import duties on this raw material would lead to a loss of about 37 billion rupees.