Govt prohibits import of parts of pocket lighters to reduce import from China

Import ban: The government banned the importation of components of pocket lighters effective immediately in the wake of its new policy to promote domestic production and reduce dependence on imports from China. The government restricts the importation of gas-fueled, non-refillable, or refillable cigarette lighters through a notification from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT).

The government has banned the import of cigarette lighters worth Rs 20 or less, apart from other pocket lighters. For the first time last year, it also made flame-producing lighters subject to quality standards to tackle the flood of shoddy imports and push domestic manufacture. All those items covered by such quality control orders cannot be manufactured, sold, traded, imported, or stocked without a BIS mark.

Imports of the lighter parts had accrued to $3.8 million from April to July this fiscal year, down from $4.86 million in the previous year. China remained the biggest source for the period, but other sources were Spain, Turkey, and the UAE.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had been pushing the central government in September 2022 to ban single-use plastic cigarette lighters, saying such items have a huge environmental impact, denting the domestic matchbox industry. He also said these imported lighters, often sold cheaply, comprise a big chunk of plastic waste.

India has been trying hard to cut its imports from China, its second-largest trading partner after the United States. Imports of merchandise from China have grown to $101.73 billion in 2023-24 compared with $98.5 billion in the previous fiscal year. In contrast, exports to China have grown slower, rising to $16.65 billion in the last fiscal year from $15.3 billion in 2022-23. This has created a gap in the trade balance, and it was at $85 billion in 2023-24 compared with $44 billion in 2020-21.

The latest import curbs reflect the Indians' continued ongoing efforts in strengthening local industries and avoiding import dependency, especially from China.