Scrapping Duty On LI Battery To Boost EV Manufacturing

New Delhi: The scrapping of basic customs duty on the import of lithium-ion battery scrap and capital goods – or the machinery used to manufacture lithium-ion batteries – will strengthen the domestic battery storage ecosystem, the industry said on Saturday.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her Union Budget 2025-26 budget speech, said that in the list of exempted capital goods, "I propose to add 35 additional capital goods for EV battery manufacturing, and 28 additional capital goods for mobile phone battery manufacturing".

"This will boost domestic manufacture of lithium-ion batteries, both for mobile phones and electric vehicles," FM Sitharaman added.

The Union Budget also proposed customs duty on waste and scrap of lithium-ion batteries from 5 per cent to zero.