The duty removal will help lower input costs for recyclers and downstream manufacturers and become competitive globally, the Material Recycling Association of India (MRAI) said.
The country remains dependent on imported aluminium scrap to meet industrial demand, it noted.
In a letter to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the body requested to abolish the existing 2.5 per cent basic customs duty (BCD) on aluminium scrap.
“India currently depends on imports to meet nearly 80-85 per cent of its aluminium scrap requirement,” it said.
Making uninterrupted access to imported scrap is indispensable for sustaining domestic manufacturing and the growth of the recycling industry.
MRAI highlighted that India’s secondary aluminium production has grown from 0.85 million tonnes in FY16 to nearly 2.2 million tonnes in FY26 and now accounts for around 35 per cent of the country’s aluminium consumption.The sector supports nearly seven lakh jobs directly and indirectly, with women comprising almost 46 per cent of the skilled workforce engaged in sorting, segregation and processing.
MRAI President Sanjay Mehta said, “Removing the 2.5 per cent Basic Customs Duty on aluminium scrap will strengthen thousands of MSMEs, generate employment, improve resource security, enhance the competitiveness of downstream manufacturing, and support the circular economy”.
He said aluminium scrap should be recognised as a strategic industrial raw material rather than treated as waste.
MRAI also pointed out that aluminium scrap remains the only major base metal scrap that continues to attract import duty in India, whereas copper, zinc and lead scrap have already been exempted.
The body said countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan and South Korea permit duty-free imports of aluminium scrap, giving their recycling industries a significant cost advantage.