India will impose duties on suspension polyvinyl chloride (s-PVC) imports with cost, insurance, and freight (cif) value of less than or equal to $0.766/kg, the ministry of commerce and industry said in a notification on 24 July.
India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said imports with a value at or less than $0.766/kg ($766/t) will be classified as "restricted" for a period of six months from 24 July onwards. The notification also underlines that this restriction "will not be applicable for imports by 100pc Export Oriented Units (EOUs), units in the SEZ and imports under the Advance Authorisation Scheme, subject to the condition that the imported inputs are not sold into the Domestic Tariff Area (DTA)".
Market participants surveyed underlined that the notification has not had a noticeable impact on prices for Indian s-PVC imports, with other factors such as high freight rates and recent offer announcements driving the market.
The new policy is expected to provide a price floor for the next six months in the Indian markets, but demand may be weak due to the monsoon season which will run until September, a producer in India said.
Sellers outside of India are currently reassessing their strategies, as it is still unclear whether the policy will still be in effect after the six-month period. "We are in the middle of waiting to see what happens, although the impact may not be too severe due to recent [tensions in the Middle East]," an exporter based in China said.
India imported a total of 3.153mn t of PVC in 2025, according to data from Global Trade Tracker (GTT), while imports in January-May this year reached just above 1.415mn t. Of these imports, China remains the greatest contributor and made up over 47pc of total imports in 2025 and over 53pc of total imports so far in 2026. While India remains heavily reliant on imported PVC supplies, the import duty is viewed as a way to control long-term import supply into India ahead of upcoming production capacities in the country from 2027 onwards.
