Government prohibits sugar exports till September 2026; Exempts EU, US quotas and Government shipments
India has prohibited sugar exports until September 30, 2026, to safeguard domestic availability and food security. The ban covers raw, white and refined sugar, while exports to the EU, US, government-approved shipments, Advance Authorisation Scheme exports, and consignments already in transit remain exempt.
Sugar export is prohibited with immediate effect till September 30, 2026, or until further orders, in a move aimed at safeguarding domestic availability and managing food security concerns.
In a notification issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the export policy of sugar under ITC (HS) Codes 1701 14 90 and 1701 99 90 has been amended from “Restricted” to “Prohibited”.
The notification covers raw sugar, white sugar and refined sugar under Chapter 17 of the ITC (HS) Schedule-II.
There are several exemptions. Sugar exports to the European Union and the United States under the CXL and Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) arrangements will continue as per prescribed procedures. Exports under the Advance Authorisation Scheme (AAS) will also remain permitted under existing provisions of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2023.
The DGFT clarified that the prohibition would not apply to government-to-government exports approved by India to meet food security requirements of other countries based on requests from their governments.
In addition, consignments already in the export pipeline have been protected from disruption. Exports will still be allowed where loading of sugar on ships had commenced before the publication of the notification, where shipping bills had already been filed and vessels had berthed or anchored at Indian ports with rotation numbers allocated, or where consignments had already been handed over to customs or custodians and registered electronically before the notification came into effect.
The government also stated that transitional arrangement provisions under Para 1.05 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2023, would not apply under this notification.
The order noted that if the prohibition is not extended beyond September 30, 2026, the export policy for sugar under the specified HS codes will automatically revert from “Prohibited” back to “Restricted”.
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Source : ChiniMandi
