• Government exempts basic customs duty on 17 cancer drugs to ease treatment costs
• Streamlined customs processes to strengthen India’s global trade role
• Seven more rare diseases added for duty-free personal imports of medicines and special medical food
In a relief to cancer patients, the government has proposed a basic customs duty exemption on 17 related drugs, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced in her Union Budget 2026-27 speech on Sunday.
Along with streamlining customs processes, the move will strengthen India’s role and share in global trade as the country advances towards its Viksit Bharat vision, the minister said.
1 January 2026
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She also proposed adding seven more rare diseases to the list. “I also propose to add seven more rare diseases for the purposes of exempting import duties on personal imports of drugs, medicine, and food for special medical purposes used in their treatment.”
