Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the duty exemption is aimed at easing the financial burden of cancer care, particularly for patients who rely on imported medicines for complex and advanced treatments
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday announced significant relief for cancer patients and their families, saying that the
Union Budget 2026–27 has removed basic customs duty on 17 cancer-related drugs and medicines, a move that will soon make life-saving treatments more affordable.
Presenting the Budget in Parliament, Sitharaman said the duty exemption is aimed at easing the financial burden of cancer care, particularly for patients who rely on imported medicines for complex and advanced treatments.
Imported oncology drugs currently attract basic customs duty, substantially increasing their retail prices. The government expects that eliminating this levy will reduce costs across multiple cancer therapies and improve access to essential medicines for patients nationwide.
In addition to the cancer drug exemptions, Sitharaman announced customs duty relief for seven more rare diseases.
Under the proposal, personal imports of drugs, medicines and foods for special medical needs used in treating these conditions will be exempt from import duties, benefiting patients who depend on personalised or niche therapies not manufactured in India.
According to an NDTV report, citing health experts, imported medicines account for a large share of cancer treatment costs in India, and even small price reductions can yield significant savings during prolonged treatment.
The exemption of basic customs duty on 17 cancer-related drugs is therefore seen as a step towards reducing catastrophic out-of-pocket expenditure, especially for patients without comprehensive insurance, added the report.
While the government has not released the full list of exempted drugs, it said the relief covers widely used, high-cost cancer medicines. Treatments for rare diseases, which often lack domestic manufacturing due to limited patient numbers and high production costs, are also expected to become more affordable under the duty-free regime.
According to the report, citing officials, the move aligns with the government’s broader push to improve healthcare affordability while strengthening domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing and rationalising duties where imports are unavoidable. By focusing on essential cancer and rare disease medicines, the Budget seeks to balance self-reliance with urgent patient needs.
Industry observers have welcomed the decision, calling customs duty removal one of the quickest ways to ease drug costs. Experts, however, cautioned that while medicine prices may fall, overall cancer treatment expenses — covering hospitalisation, diagnostics and supportive care — remain high, highlighting the need for a wider healthcare financing strategy, reported NDTV.
Even so, the duty exemption on cancer drugs and the expanded relief for rare diseases stands out as one of the most patient-centric measures in the Union Budget 2026–27, offering meaningful, if partial, financial relief to families facing rising treatment costs.
With inputs from agencies
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