Centre extends concessional custom duty on edible oil import till March 2023

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The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) on October 2 extended existing concessional import duties on specified edible oils up to March 31, 2023. The move aims at boosting domestic supply and curbing prices of edible oil.

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 set till March 31, 2023, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution said in a statement.

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 agricess and 10 per cent social welfare cess, the effective duty on crude varieties of these three edible oils touches 5.5 per cent.

The concessional customs duty on edible oil import has also been extended by another 6 months, which means that the new deadline will now be March 2023. Prices of edible oil have been on declining trend driven by fall in global prices. With falling global rates and lower import duties, retail prices of edible oils have fallen considerably in India. .

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.