Govt announces duty benefits on inputs used for seafood, leather exports

The government on Sunday proposed an increase in the duty-free import limit for specified inputs used in the export of processed seafood products and leather or synthetic footwear. For the processing seafood products segment, the limit will be increased from the current one per cent to three per cent of the FOB (free on board) value of the previous year's export turnover. ''I also propose to allow duty-free imports of specified inputs, which is currently available for exports of leather or synthetic footwear, to exports of shoe uppers as well,'' Sitharaman said in her Budget speech. Further, the minister also announced to extend the time period for export of final product from the existing six months to one year, for exporters of leather or textile garments, leather or synthetic footwear and other leather products. These announcements are important as these labour-intensive sectors are facing huge challenges in the US, which is a major export destination. The Trump administration has imposed a steep 50 per cent import duty on Indian goods entering America. The country's leather and leather products shipments dipped marginally 0.23 per cent to USD 3.3 billion during April-December 2025-26. During April-December 2025, India's seafood exports rose 15.53 per cent to USD 6.5 billion, up from USD 5.67 billion in the same period last year.