Govt extends concessional import duties on edible oils

New Delhi: Concessional import duties on specified edible oils are in place till March 2023, the food ministry said on Sunday.

This decision was taken on August 31, 2022 by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) in order to boost domestic supply and keeping retail prices under control. The food ministry in its latest statement said that the CBIC's decision of extending existing concessional import duties on specified edible oils is in place till March 2023.

"The concessional customs duty on edible oil import has been extended by another 6 months, which means that the new deadline will now be March 2023," the statement said. The ministry also said that domestic edible oil prices have been on a declining trend driven by a fall in global prices. With falling global rates and lower import duties, retail prices of edible oils have fallen considerably in India. According to the statement, the current duty structure on crude palm oil, RBD Palmolein, RBD palm oil, crude soybean oil, refined soybean oil, crude sunflower oil and refined sunflower oil remains unchanged till March 31, 2023. The import duty on crude varieties of palm oil, soyabean oil and sunflower oil is currently zero.

However, after taking into account 5 per cent agri cess and 10 per cent social welfare cess, the effective duty on crude varieties of these three edible oils is 5.5 per cent. The basic customs duty on refined varieties of palmolein and refined palm oil is 12.5 per cent, while social welfare cess is 10 per cent. So, the effective duty is 13.75 per cent. For refined soyabean and sunflower oil, the basic customs duty is 17.5 per cent and taking into account 10 per cent social welfare cess, the effective duty comes to 19.25 per cent.

With edible oil prices ruling high throughout last year, the government had on multiple occasions cut import duty on palm oil to increase domestic availability. As India imports more than 60 per cent of its edible oil requirement, retail prices came under pressure in the last few months taking cues from the global market.