What Changed?
The Finance Act, 2026 clarified the Excise Duty treatment of imported plastic articles under tariff headings 3923.30.00 and 3923.90.90.
The Act retained the 10% Excise Duty on imported plastic articles under these tariff headings.
Although the Finance Bill, 2026 proposed removing the word “imported”, which would have extended the provision to locally manufactured plastic articles, this proposal was not retained in the final Act.
What Are the Implications?
- Importers: Imported plastic articles covered by the specified tariff headings remain subject to Excise Duty at 10%.
- Local manufacturers: The provision does not extend this Excise Duty to locally manufactured articles under the specified headings.
- Business planning: Importers should continue factoring the applicable Excise Duty into their landed costs and selling prices.
- Greater clarity: The amendment clarifies the scope of the provision and avoids extending the duty to locally manufactured products as proposed in the Finance Bill.
What Should Businesses Do?
Importers should confirm the correct tariff classification of their products and account for the applicable Excise Duty when calculating import costs.
Businesses should also distinguish between imported and locally manufactured plastic articles when assessing their Excise Duty obligations.
Source: Finance Act, 2026.
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