Assam Boosts Tea Exports With New Incentive Plan

Guwahati: Assam revamped its tea incentive scheme to drive exports and fix logistics bottlenecks. The state government updated the Assam Tea Industries Special Incentives Scheme, 2020, in a notification issued September 18. Officials want to ease the burden of heavy inland transport, container repositioning, and terminal handling fees. Producers now get a 3 rupee per kilogram incentive for exported Single Origin Assam Quality CTC Tea.

The policy change specifically ropes in CTC tea sold through the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre. This move binds the state auction system to the export support framework. Industry leaders expect this to drive participation in the auction house. Dinesh Bihani, secretary of the Guwahati Tea Auction Buyers Association, noted the shift in strategy. "For Guwahati, one of the world's largest CTC tea auction centres, the recognition of GTAC auction sales under the new export incentive is expected to encourage greater participation in the organised auction channel, support Assam's export competitiveness and further strengthen GTAC's standing in domestic and international markets," Bihani said.

The government also hiked production subsidies for Orthodox and Speciality Tea. The rate rose from 10 to 15 rupees per kilogram. Gardens can now claim up to 1 crore rupees annually. Matcha Tea enters the scheme for the first time. Working capital interest subventions grew from 15 lakh to 20 lakh rupees. These changes stem from the 2026-27 Budget proposals. The policy remains active until March 31, 2031.