The Union Budget 2025-26, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, has rolled out substantial customs duty exemptions and trade facilitation measures to spur domestic manufacturing, support healthcare, and boost exports. The budget has exempted 36 life-saving medicines, extended tax relief for patient assistance programs, and major incentives for the medical and pharmaceutical sectors.

Key Highlights
Pharma & Healthcare Benefits:

• 36 life-saving drugs, which include cancer treatments, rare diseases, and chronic conditions, have been fully exempted from Basic Customs Duty (BCD).

• 6 more medicines have been added to the list of essential treatments under the concessional 5% duty category.

• 37 more medicines under patient assistance programs will now be fully exempted from customs duty.

Incentives for Domestic Manufacturing:

• 35 additional capital goods for EV battery production and 28 for mobile phone battery manufacturing now exempt from BCD to boost local manufacturing.

• Customs duty exemptions on cobalt powder, lithium-ion battery scrap, lead, zinc, and 12 more critical minerals to support India's battery and electronics industries.

Export Promotion

• The export timeline, under the handicraft sector, for exemption from duty was extended to a year from six months to help small-scale artisans.

• Crust leather export duty of 20% was abolished, and BCD on wet blue leather was withdrawn to support tanners and manufacturers.

• BCD on Frozen Fish Paste (Surimi) reduced from 30% to 5% to support sea-food exports.

Ease of Doing Business Measures:

• Custom assessments would be completed within two years, which could be extended by one year.

• Voluntary compliance for importers/exporters. Importers/Exporters self-declaration without penalty but with interest on duties.

• Quarterly, instead of monthly, filing for importers would provide greater flexibility and reduce their compliance burden.

Statements by Leaders or Officials:
Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Finance Minister:
"The 2025-26 Budget clearly focuses on rationalizing tariff structures, thereby letting domestic manufacturing go forward while promoting exports and providing healthcare relief. Exemption of life-saving drugs will not only help patients reduce healthcare cost but also open up new avenues toward economic development."The Union Budget 2025-26 is likely to be robust for India's pharma and healthcare ecosystem through customs duty exemptions on critical medicines, reduced taxes on key industrial imports, and pro-export revamping of reforms. These strategic tax and policy measures are likely to strengthen India's global competitiveness while supporting affordability and accessibility in healthcare.