India extends policy to import refined palm oil at lower duty

29 Dec 2022 , 02:15 PM

The government on Wednesday extended the facility of restriction free imports of refined palm oil beyond December 31, 2022 till further orders.

The move is aimed at increasing domestic supplies and bringing down prices of cooking oils.

In June last year, the government removed import restrictions on refined palm oil till December 31, 2021 as prices of edible oils had risen sharply. Later, it was extended till December 31, 2022.

‘The free import policy of items (refined bleached deodorized palm oil, refined bleached deodorized palmolein) is extended beyond December 31, 2022 until further orders,’ the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification on Wednesday.

Last year in December 2021, India cut basic import tax on refined palm oil and brought down the total taxes on their imports to 13.75% from 19.25% earlier.

The duty cut made refined palm oil imports lucrative for Indian refiners, which traditionally prefer to import crude palm oil.

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