Adani Ports & SEZ has officially announced crossing the landmark milestone of 500.8 million tonnes of cargo handled in FY26, marking a defining moment in the company's evolution and India's infrastructure-led transformation. The achievement was highlighted by a record 46 million tonnes handled in March 2026, demonstrating exceptional operational momentum with 11% year-on-year growth.

FY26 Milestone Achievement

According to the company's regulatory filing dated April 2, 2026, APSEZ handled 500.8 million tonnes of cargo in FY26, representing an 11% increase year-on-year. The milestone was reached with strong performance metrics, including 19% higher container handling volumes, reinforcing APSEZ's position as a critical enabler of India's trade and industrial growth.

Key Operational Highlights

The company's operational performance update revealed several significant achievements. CWIT (Container and Warehouse Infrastructure Terminal) handled 1.06 million TEUs in FY26, surpassing the 1 million TEU milestone during its first year of operations. The terminal achieved its highest ever monthly volume at 134,960 TEUs in March 2026.

Haifa port has become operational and delivered 0.77 million tonnes in March 2026, compared to 0.59 million tonnes in February 2026, showing consistent growth trajectory.

Leadership Vision and Strategic Direction

Mr. Gautam Adani, Chairman of Adani Group, emphasized the significance of this achievement, stating that "Ports are not merely gateways for trade, they are gateways to national confidence, competitiveness and destiny." He expressed gratitude to customers, partners, and the APSEZ team whose dedication made this milestone possible.

Adani highlighted that crossing 500 million tonnes signals decades-long confidence in the India growth story, noting that APSEZ has built not just ports, but an unparalleled interconnected transport and logistics platform spanning ports, rail, roads, trucking, warehouses, and cargo gateways.

Accelerating Growth Trajectory

The journey to 500 million tonnes demonstrates compounding scale and execution efficiency. While APSEZ took 16 years to reach its first 100 million tonnes, each subsequent 100 million tonnes has been added faster than the last, reflecting increasing scale, efficiency, resilience and strategic depth of its platform.

With this milestone achievement in FY26, APSEZ remains firmly positioned toward its ambitious goal of handling 1 billion tonnes of cargo by 2030, reinforcing its commitment to building world-class infrastructure and maintaining operational excellence.

The Finance Ministry has issued a notification announcing a substantial reduction in customs duty for goods manufactured in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) that are sold within India. However, official sources have confirmed that petroleum and food products have been removed from the concessional SEZ scheme, creating sector-specific limitations to the policy benefits.

New Duty Structure with Exclusions

Under the revised framework, customs duty on SEZ goods sold domestically has been reduced to a range of 5% to 12.5%. This represents a considerable decrease from the previous duty structure, making SEZ-manufactured products more competitive when sold in the Indian market. However, the exclusion of petroleum and food products significantly limits the scope of benefits for companies operating in these sectors.

Impact on Major Companies

The exclusion of petroleum products from the concessional scheme particularly affects major companies like Reliance Industries , which operates significant petroleum refining and petrochemical facilities within SEZs. This sector-specific exclusion means that companies in the petroleum and food processing industries will not benefit from the reduced customs duty structure when selling their SEZ-manufactured products domestically.

Policy Duration and Implications

The Finance Ministry has specified that this reduced duty structure will remain in effect for one year. This time-bound implementation suggests the government is testing the impact of lower duties on SEZ performance and domestic market dynamics before considering permanent changes to the duty structure. The selective exclusion of petroleum and food products indicates a targeted approach to the policy implementation.

The notification comes as part of ongoing efforts to enhance the attractiveness of SEZs and support manufacturing activities within these designated zones. While the policy aims to provide SEZ units with greater flexibility in their market strategies, the sector-specific exclusions create a differentiated impact across industries.