Government to halt duty-free import of crude soybean oil from April 1st

12 Jan 2023 , 02:48 AM

India will halt duty free imports of crude soybean oil from April 1, the government said on Wednesday, as the world’s biggest importer of vegetable oils has tried to support local oilseed farmers.

Tariff rate quota is a quota for a volume of imports that will enter India at specified or nil duty, but after the quota is reached, the normal tariff applies to additional imports.

The directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) said in a public notice, ‘Last date for import of crude soybean oil under TRQ has been revised to March 31, 2023. Further, no allocation of TRQs for import of crude soybean oil shall be made for 2023-24.’

The government has earlier exempted customs duty and agriculture infrastructure development cess on 20 lakh metric tonnes yearly import of crude soybean oil and crude sunflower oil each, to ease domestic prices.

The duty-free import of 20 lakh MT per year was earlier applicable for two financial years i.e. 2022-23 and 2023-24 — for crude soybean oil and crude sunflower oil. Now, it is applicable only for crude sunflower seed oil.

For feedback and suggestions, write to us at [e-mail]