Import duty on refined oil raised to 10 per cent

The government, on Thursday, increased the import duty on refined edible oil to 10 per cent from 7.5 per cent at present to protect the domestic processing industry and farmers.

The increased duty was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).

The move is expected to fetch the government Rs.600 crore in revenue, while retail prices of refined oil may increase marginally.

“The CCEA has approved increasing import duty on refined edible oil to 10 per cent,” Food Minister K. V. Thomas told PTI after the meeting.

The agriculture, finance and commerce ministries supported the decision to maintain a 7.5 per cent import duty difference between refined and crude edible oils, he added.

The import duty on crude edible oil is now 2.5 per cent. India imports more than 10 million tonnes of vegetable oils every year, which is almost 50 per cent of the domestic need.

Local refiners are now operating below capacity, which affects farmers as well, because importing refined edible oil has become more viable than buying crude edible oil from overseas.