Export of alcohol-based hand sanitisers banned by the govt

The central government on May 6 has banned the export of alcohol-based hand sanitisers. The decision has been taken in the wake of rising demand of the sanitisers in the domestic markets.

The central government on March 19 had also announced the ban on the export of coveralls, masks, ventilators, and other essentials items for the treatment of COVID-19.

Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) released an official notification stating that the alcohol-based hand sanitisers have been prohibited for the exports.

Official notification:

Key Highlights:

• Hand sanitisers have become one of the essential items to prevent the infection of COVID-19.

• The ban on the export of hand sanitisers has come due to its increased demand in the domestic market.

• People were resorting in panic buying the masks and sanitisers in abundance amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

• As per the estimate, India had already exported sanitisers worth of $495 million in 2018-2019 and around $419 billion during April to January in 2019-20.

 Ban on the export of other items essential to fight COVID-19:

DGFT had also banned the export of Personal Protection Kit (PPE) including the N-95 masks on February 25. Surgical and disposable masks were not prohibited at the time.

Between the time period of April and November 2019, India had exported about $845 million worth of the essential products. As per the data from the commerce industry, the export was $1.27 billion in 2018-2019.