Cigarette Lighters Policy: government imposed new rules

Cigarette Lighters Policy: The Centre government on Thursday prohibited imports of cigarette lighters if the price per unit is less than Rs 20, with a view to discourage inbound shipments of the product. “The import policy of cigarette lighters…is revised from ‘free’ to ‘prohibited’.

However, import shall be free if CIF value is Rs 20 or above per lighter,” the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) said in a notification. The notification further added that import shall be free if CIF value is Rs 20 or above per lighter.” The prohibition has been imposed on pocket lighters, gas fuelled, non-refillable or refillable.

CIF value (cost, insurance, and freight) is a trade term used in international commerce to determine the total value of goods being imported. Imports of pocket lighters, gas fuelled, non-refillable stood at USD 0.66 million in 2022-23. It was $0.13 million in April this fiscal.

Similarly, the inbound shipments of pocket lighters, gas fuelled, and refillable, stood at $8.87 million in 2022-23 against $7 million in 2021-22. It was $0.96 million in April of this fiscal which are imported mainly from Spain, Turkey and the UAE.

In September 2022, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin had written to the Commerce and Trade ministry to seek a ban on imported cigarette lighters. In the letter dated 8th September, 2022, Stalin wrote, “The Match Box Manufacturing Industry is a major source of employment in the southern part of Tamil Nadu. It is a traditional industry that employs over a lakh people directly.

Most of its employees are women. Further, the industry is a vital engine of economic growth in a region that is and for agriculture. You will be already aware that the matchbox industry earns foreign exchange revenue of around Rs.400 crore through exports”.

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