New Delhi : Tyre makers' plea to bring down import duty on natural rubber to 7.5 per cent from 20 per cent at present has been turned down by the commerce ministry, the Rubber Board has said.

"Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma has ruled out any cut in import duty of rubber from the present 20 per cent," Rubber Board Chairman Sajen Peter said in a statement released on Aug 25.

Hit by steep rise in natural rubber price, Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association had in March urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to allow duty-free import of at least 2,00,000 tonne of raw material and reduce import duty to 7.5 per cent or double customs duty on imported tyre to 20 per cent to help domestic manufacturers.

Rubber growers, however, feared that reduction in import duty may lead to dumping of cheap natural rubber from ASEAN countries which could have a cascading effect on the prices of natural rubber resulting into a drastic fall in prices in the domestic market.

The commerce minister made his views clear to a team of Parliamentarians from Kerala who called on him yesterday morning, the Rubber Board statement said.

"In the case of import duty, the government would be implementing the recommendation of the expert panel constituted under the directive of Delhi High Court to look into the demands raised in a petition by rubber consuming organisations," Sharma was quoted as saying in the statement.

The expert panel had recommended that the import duty be retained at 20 per cent, but a maximum ceiling of Rs 20.46 be fixed, which is based on the average domestic price of rubber for the last three fiscals.

India imported 15,372 tonnes natural rubber in May this year compared to 17,976 tonnes in the same month in 2009. Domestic rubber goods manufacturing industries consumed 79,150 tonnes of natural rubber in May this year vis-a-vis 78,250 tonnes in April.