Import of cigarette lighter: With an aim to discourage inward shipments of the product, the government on Thursday banned the import of cigarette lighters if the price per unit is less than Rs 20.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade said, “The import policy of cigarette lighters has been revised from ‘free’ to ‘prohibited’. However, if the CIF value (cost, insurance and freight) is Rs 20 or more per lighter, the import shall be free.” (DGFT) said in a notification.
CIF value is a trade term used in international commerce to determine the total value of imported goods. The ban has been imposed on pocket lighters, gas-powered, non-refillable or refillable.
Imports of pocket lighters, gas fuel, non-refillable to stand at US$ 0.66 million in 2022-23. It was US$ 0.13 million in April this financial year.
Similarly, inward shipments of pocket lighters, gas-powered and refillable, are expected to be USD 8.87 million in 2022-23 as against USD 7 million in 2021-22. It was US$ 0.96 million in April of this financial year. These are mainly imported from Spain, Turkey and UAE.
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(With inputs from PTI)