Govt slashes import tax on edible oil by 10%

The Centre, in a bid to bring down food prices, on Friday lowered the basic import tax on crude edible oils by 10 percentage points, the government said in a notification.

The duty change would be effective from May 31, the notification said.

India meets more than 70% of its vegetable oil demand through imports. It buys palm oil mainly from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, while it imports soyoil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine.

Sr. No.	Description of Goods	Tariff Value (US $ Per Metric Tonne)
1	Crude Palm Oil	965
2	RBD Palm Oil	1018
3	Others – Palm Oil	992
4	Crude Palmolein	1023
5	RBD Palmolein	1026
6	Others – Palmolein	1025
7	Crude Soya bean Oil	1092
8	Brass Scrap (all grades)	5483

The move will bring down edible oil prices and boost demand and subsequently increase overseas purchases of palm oil, soyoil and sunflower oil.

The government had halved the basic customs duty on crude palm oil, crude soyoil and crude sunflower oil to 10% from earlier 20%.

It will effectively bring down the total import duty on the three oils to 16.5% from earlier 27.5% as they are also subject to India's Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess and Social Welfare Surcharge.

In September 2024, India imposed a 20% basic customs duty on crude and refined vegetable oils. After the revision, crude palm oil, crude soyoil, and crude sunflower oil attracted a 27.5% import duty, compared to 5.5% previously, while refined grades of the three oils now have a 35.75% import tax.

(with Reuters inputs)