All India Plastics Manufacturers Association (AIPMA) on Monday urged the government to double import duty on finished plastic products to 20 per cent and provide incentives to domestic manufacturers to make India self-reliant. The association has conducted a detailed study on the import of plastic goods in the country.

“A large quantity of finished plastic goods is being imported. We need to curb that. We urge the government to increase import duty of plastic finished goods (HS Code 3916 to 3926) from 10 per cent to 20 per cent,” AIPMA President Mayur D Shah told reporters here.

The country imported plastic goods worth Rs 37,500 crore in 2021, mainly from China, he said.

Shah said there are around 50,000 plastic manufacturers in India and their combined annual turnover is about Rs 3.5 lakh crore.

AIPMA has selected 550 plastics for import substitution.

“It is estimated that import substitution of plastic goods worth Rs 37,500 crore would create additional requirement of around 4 million tonnes of raw material per annum and 16,000-plus plastics processing machines including tools, moulds, jigs and fixtures. It would also create 5 lakh additional jobs in the country,” the association said.

PLI Scheme be made available for units manufacturing import substitution products, said Arvind Mehta, Chairman, AIPMA Governing Council.

Technology Upgradation Scheme (TUFS) should be made available to enable plastic processing units to modernize their machines and technologies, Mehta said.

“India should develop a comprehensive action plan to boost local manufacturing and incentivise plastics finished goods to make India the next global plastic product production hub,” Shah said.

AIPMA is organizing six technology conferences for the growth of the plastic industry across the country with the objective of import substitution of plastic goods.