India cuts import tax on crude edible oils to help reduce food prices

India halved the basic import tax on crude edible oils to 10% on Friday, the government said, as the world’s biggest vegetable oil importer tries to bring down food prices and help the local refining industry. The customs duty applies to crude palm oil FCPO1!, crude soyoil (BOc2) and crude sunflower oil. 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. “This is a win-win situation for vegetable oil refiners as well as consumers, as local prices will go down due to the duty reduction,” said B.V. Mehta, executive director of the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA). The government did not change the import duty on refined palm oil, refined soyoil or refined sunflower oil, which currently attract a 35.75% import tax. The import duty gap between refined and crude edible oils has risen to 19.25%, which will prompt ...