Government extends the free import of Urad till 31st March 2026

The government of India has extended the free import of Urad pulses till 31st March 2026 to control the price of the essential pulses in the country. The government of India has also imposed a 10% import duty on the lentil (masur) and extended the duty-free import of yellow peas till 31st May 2025.

The notification regarding the free import of Urad was issued by the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The notification regarding the duty-free import of yellow peas and 10 % import duty on lentils was issued by the Revenue Department, Union Ministry of Finance.

India is the largest producer, consumer, and importer of pulses in the world.

Free import of Urad till 31st March 2026

India is the largest producer and consumer of Urad pulses in the world, but the demand for Urad is more than the domestic production.

To bridge the gap between demand and supply, the government of India allowed the free import of Urad till 31st March 2025.

It has now been extended by one year to 31st March 2026.

Free import means that there is no quantitative restriction on the import of Urad, and no custom duty will be imposed on the import.

Quantitative restriction means the quantity of goods to be imported. No quantitative restriction means that importers can import as much Urad pulses as they want.

Statistics regarding Urad Import

• In 2023-24, the total import of Urad was USD 663.21 million.
• Myanmar was the major supplier of Urad in 2023-24, with the total import being USD 646.6 million.
• During the April November 2024 period, the total import of Urad was USD 663.21 million, with imports from Myanmar being USD 549 million.

Source of import 

• Myanmar is the largest source of import of Urad, followed by Singapore, Thailand, and Brazil.

Production of Urad in India 

• India is the largest producer and consumer of Urad in the world.
• Madhya Pradesh is the largest producer of Urad in India, followed by  Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra.

Duty-Free Import of Yellow Peas Extended till 31st May 2025

The duty-free import of yellow peas has been extended by three months till 31st May 2025.

The government first allowed the duty-free import of yellow peas in December 2023, which was regularly extended till 28 February 2025.

In 2024, out of the total pulse import of 6.7 million tonnes (MT), the share of yellow peas import was 3 MT.

Yellow peas are used as a substitute for Channa in India.

Russia is the largest supplier of yellow peas to India followed by Canada .

10 % duty on lentils (Masur)

The Union Finance Ministry has also imposed a 10% duty on the import of masur. The duty consists of  5% basic customs duty and 5% Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess (AIDC).

Canada and Russia are the major sources of Masur for India.

According to the Indian Institute of Pulse Research in 2022  Uttar Pradesh was the largest Masur producing state in India contributing to 36.43 % of national production.

Madhya Pradesh was at the second position(34.55%),West Bengal(10.53%) , Bihar (8.84 %) and Jharkhand (4.5 %).