New Delhi, March 24 :     The government is considering a proposal to take tea out of the restricted import list and shift it to the list of special agro products (SAP) which are permitted to be imported freely but with a customs impost of 35 per cent and a surcharge of 10 per cent. The new category was created in this year's budget taking into account the need to permit imports of a large number of farm products to meet global treaty obligations. This is a compromise formula being considered in the wake of strident protests from the tea industry to its decision to open up the Indian tea market under commitments that the country has made at the World Trade Organisation talks. The domestic tea industry has been seeking protection from cheaper imports from East African countries. Tea plantation companies had been lobbying hard with both the Central Board of Excise and Customs and the commerce ministry to protect their market interests. The finance ministry officials confirmed that they had been sounded out to place tea on the list of SAP products allowed into India and were likely to take a supportive view. The tea industry is especially worried that once imports are permitted, Kenya, which is the world's third largest producer of tea, will swamp the market with low-cost quality teas which could hit non-Darjeeling tea sales. The domestic market is already in a turmoil because the government has opened up tea imports from Sri Lanka at a competitive tariff of 7.5 per cent. Consistent lobbying by tea producers was unable to overturn the government decision as the deal with Sri Lanka had been decided at the highest level. A similar deal with Bangladesh is also in the offing but this is not a major concern for Indian tea industry as Bangladesh is not a major player in the tea market. However, government officials feel that tea imports should not be totally discouraged as higher consumption demands within the domestic market is leaving little exportable surplus. India which produced about 850 million kgs in 1998-1999 and remained at the top of the league of tea producers ahead of China, is expected to also consume over 710 million kgs of tea next year, making it the nation with the largest number of tea drinker. Tea production in April-September 1999 was estimated at 504.62 million kgs against 539.29 million kgs in the previous year.