The government has now prohibited the importation of cigarette lighters under $20, which were previously free. However, the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) stated in a notification that imports must be free if the CIF value (cost, insurance, and freight) is $20 or more per lighter.
All gas-powered pocket lighters, whether they are refillable or not, are prohibited.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin submitted a letter to the Centre in September 2022, requesting a ban on single-use plastic cigarette lighters to save the matchbox sector, which is a key source of employment in the state's southern region. Over a lakh people, the majority of them are women, make their living from this traditional industry.
"The industry is a vital engine of economic growth in a region that is arid for agriculture. You will be already aware that the matchbox industry earns foreign exchange revenue of around ₹400 crores through exports," the CM noted in a letter addressed to Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal.
Stalin appreciated Goyal in a tweet on Thursday after the prohibition was announced, “This decision is a significant step towards protecting the livelihoods of over a lakh people in Tamil Nadu's matchbox industry.”
Stalin noted that the COVID epidemic, supply chain interruptions as a result of the outbreak, and an increase in input costs had made exporting more expensive and logistically challenging.
The Chinese single-use plastic cigarette lighters, which cost only $10 and can replace 20 matchboxes, are also hurting domestic sales. According to him, these non-refillable lighters produce a significant amount of plastic garbage, which has a negative effect on the environment and human health.
According to Kathiravan, secretary of the Tamil Nadu Match Manufacturers Association, the lighters are being unlawfully imported from China as "empty lighter cases" using fabricated invoices to get over the prohibitions on combustible materials and fool the customs.
Due to its negative impacts on the environment, the Andaman and Nicobar government issued a gazette notification in 2019 banning its use entirely.
Notably, cigarette packets were also on the list of 30 single-use plastic items that the government planned to make illegal in 2022.
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