ICEMA urges stricter rules on imported used construction equipment after CEV Stage V norms increased new machine costs, highlighting concerns over emissions, fair competition and industry growth.
Key points
- The Arithmetic of the Loophole
- Why This Hits Manufacturers Hardest Right Now
- The Environmental Angle That Strengthens the Industry's Case
- What Happens Next?
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A year after India's construction equipment industry absorbed the cost of the country's strictest emission standards, its manufacturers say they are watching a loophole widen: rising imports of second-hand machines that were never built to meet those standards at all. The Indian Construction Equipment Manufacturers' Association (ICEMA) raised the issue directly with Dr. V. Anantha Nageswaran, Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India, the industry lobby body stated in its latest newsletter.
The Arithmetic of the Loophole
Table of Contents
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1. The Arithmetic of the Loophole |
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2. Why This Hits Manufacturers Hardest Right Now |
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3. The Environmental Angle That Strengthens the Industry's Case |
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4. What Happens Next? |
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The association flagged "rising imports of non-compliant used construction equipment" as a key concern and requested that the government impose stricter import regulations, including mandatory compliance with CEV Stage V emission norms and safety standards for machines entering the country. India's transition to CEV Stage V, the emission standard for construction equipment vehicles broadly aligned with the norms in force in Europe, pushed the price of new machines up by an estimated 12 to 15%. Domestic sales fell 7% in the financial year ended March 2026 as buyers digested the increase amid a general slowdown in road and other infrastructure-related activity.
Meanwhile, imports of construction equipment rose roughly 17%, to 3,909 units from 3,352 the previous year, with the increase concentrated in earthmoving machines, material handling equipment and concrete equipment.
Why This Hits Manufacturers Hardest Right Now
Behind the careful language sits a straightforward commercial grievance and a genuine policy puzzle. For manufacturers, the complaint is about a playing field that tilted just as they finished paying to level it. Every equipment maker selling in India had to re-engineer products, absorb development costs and pass part of the increase to customers to comply with Stage V. A used machine entering the country without meeting any equivalent standard competes against that investment with none of its costs.
This comes at a time when buyers across India's commercial vehicle and equipment segments are already price-sensitive, comparing new versus used trucks and equipment more carefully than before. An unregulated flow of cheaper, non-compliant used machines only sharpens that comparison against domestic manufacturers.
The Environmental Angle That Strengthens the Industry's Case
There is an environmental irony here that gives the industry's commercial argument unusual reach. India adopted Stage V partly to cut emissions from one of the more polluting categories of diesel machinery and partly to align Indian-made equipment with global standards — a strategy that helped drive a 31.5% export surge last year, according to the same sales report.
Imports of non-compliant used machines undercut both objectives at once: they add old engines to Indian worksites while eroding the domestic market that funds the industry's cleaner product lines. It's a dynamic not unlike what commercial vehicle makers have flagged around older diesel trucks staying on Indian roads well past their intended service life, even as newer, cleaner models absorb the cost of tighter emission norms.
What Happens Next?
Any tightening would likely involve multiple arms of government: the commerce ministry's trade policy, customs enforcement at the ports and the road transport ministry's compliance framework — perhaps another reason the industry chose to start with the economist whose office speaks to all of them.
Until then, the situation stands as the industry describes it: a country with world-class emission rules for the machines it builds and a considerably more relaxed attitude toward the machines it lets in. For buyers evaluating new construction equipment purchases in the meantime, comparing specifications and on-road costs through tools like the EMI calculator can help weigh the higher upfront cost of Stage V-compliant machines against their long-term compliance and resale advantages.
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Frequently Asked Questions on the Used Construction Equipment Import Issue
Q1. What is CEV Stage V and why does it matter?
Ans. CEV Stage V is India's emission standard for construction equipment vehicles, broadly aligned with European norms. It pushed up the price of new compliant machines by an estimated 12-15%, but is not currently mandatory for used machines being imported into India.
Q2. Why has ICEMA raised this issue with the government?
Ans. ICEMA flagged rising imports of non-compliant used construction equipment as unfair competition, since domestic manufacturers have already absorbed the cost of meeting Stage V norms while imported used machines face no equivalent requirement.
Q3. How much have construction equipment imports risen?
Ans. Imports rose roughly 17%, from 3,352 units to 3,909 units year-on-year, with the increase concentrated in earthmoving machines, material handling equipment and concrete equipment, even as domestic sales fell 7%.
Q4. What changes is the industry asking for?
Ans. ICEMA has requested stricter import regulations, including mandatory compliance with CEV Stage V emission norms and safety standards for used construction equipment entering India, which would likely require coordination between the commerce ministry, customs and the road transport ministry.