36 life-saving drugs fully exempted from basic customs duty under Union Budget 2025: Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday, the government revealed its budget plan for 2025-26, and it includes a significant initiative to promote the healthcare sector.

36 Lifesaving drugs and medicines to be added to the list of medicines fully exempted from Basic Customs Duty.

37 more medicines and 13 new patient assistance programmes are to be fully exempted from Basic Customs Duty (where they are supplied free of cost to patients).

However, 6 life-saving medicines are to be added to the list attracting concessional custom duty of 5% duty. 

"To provide relief to patients, especially



those suffering from cancer and rare diseases, I propose 36 life-saving drugs in fully exempted custom duties," Ms Sitharaman said while presenting her eighth consecutive Union Budget.

The government reduced the GST rates and exempted three anti-cancer drugs—Trastuzumab, Osimertinib, and Durvalumab—from customs duties in the most recent budget.

India is the second-largest contributor to the disease burden in Asia, with around 12 lakh new cases and 9.3 lakh deaths from cancer in 2019, according to a Lancet study. According to the report, the figure increased to 13.9 lakh in 2020 and then to 14.2 lakh and 14.6 lakh in 2021 and 2022, respectively.