Government extends concessional import duty on edible oil till March 2023 to keep check on its prices

Tags: Economy/Finance

To keep a check on the price of the edible oils the government of India has extended the concessional duty on the import of edible oils by 6 months till 31st March 2023.

The notification to this effect was issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).

India is the largest importer of edible oil in the world and with the festive season in the coming months the government has decided to continue with the concessional duty regime for edible oils.

Current Import Duty Structure 

Import of Crude palm oil, RBD Palmolein, RBD palm oil, crude soybean oil, refined soybean oil, crude sunflower oil and refined sunflower oil is zero percent.

However, the government has levied 5 % agricultural cess and 10% special social welfare cess on them. Thus the effective import duty on these crude oils work outs to be 5.5%

The basic customs duty on refined varieties of Palmolein and refined palm oil is 12.5 per cent, while social welfare cess is 10 percent. 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 percent social welfare cess, the effective duty comes to 19.25 per cent.

Source of Import 

India imports palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia, while other oils, such as soya and sunflower, come from Argentina, Brazil, Ukraine and Russia.

Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC)

Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (erstwhile Central Board of Excise & Customs) is a part of the Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.

 It deals with the tasks of formulation of policy concerning levy and collection of Customs, Central Excise duties, Central Goods & Services Tax and IGST, 

It also deals in prevention of smuggling and administration of matters relating to Customs, Central Excise, Central Goods & Services Tax, IGST and Narcotics to the extent under CBIC's purview.

Chairperson: Vivek Johri