NEW DELHI: As part of its efforts to tackle mounting inflationary pressure, the Centre on Tuesday exempted import levy and cess on crude soybean oil and sunflower oil on a quantity of 20 lakh tonnes a year for two years.
At the moment, there is a 5% agricultural infrastructure and development cess for importing these items. The latest move could bring relief to consumers as it will cool cooking oil prices. The government has already scrapped base customs duty on almost all edible oils, including palm oil and soybean oil, and imposed inventory limits to curtail hoarding.
The decision comes in the backdrop of oil prices jumping as much as 17% last month. The overall retail inflation in April stood at a high 7.8%. India is one of the top importers of vegetable oil in the world. Prices of edible oils skyrocketed after the Ukraine-Russia war started and Indonesia put a ban on palm oil exports.
In another development, the Centre also restricted sugar exports to 100 lakh tonnes to maintain enough domestic supply and prevent rise in prices. “Sugar mills and exporters need to take approvals in form of Export Release Orders from Directorate of Sugar, Department of Food and Public Distribution,” a government statement read.