 "Budget: Agro-based Companies happy, edible oil industry disappointed")
"Total withdrawal of export duty on de-oiled rice bran oil cake will help the industry, as such a duty had made our exports uncompetitive. Non inclusion of agro commodities for the CTT (commodity transaction tax) on commodities trading again will help the sector," Ruchi Soya Industries Managing Director Dinesh Shahra said here.
Setting up storage tanks, silos, godowns in rural sector will certainly boost agriculture sector in India. Higher allocation to agriculture and rural sector will have a ripple down effect on the Indian economy and agro-based companies, she said.
Investment allowance at the rate of 15 in plant and machinery made after April 1 will also boost the industry. Low cost of financing and generation-based incentives will encourage investments in renewable energy projects, Shahra said.
"Implementation of goods and services tax (GST) is a welcome move and I am sure, it will be backed by immediate concrete steps. All in all, the Finance Minister seems to have achieved a balancing act of fiscal prudence with emphasis on both growth and stability.
"We were expecting the Finance Minister to raise import duty on crude palm oil to 10 and refined palmolein to 20 thus maintaining a healthy differential of 10 that could have benefited farmers of India and the domestic refining industry," he added.
Tariff Commission, chaired by V Lakshmi Ratan, in its report to the Centre had recommended that the tariff differential between crude palm oil, palmolein and refined palm oil and palmolein should be kept at 10.
Last month, when the government announced imposition of an import duty of 2.5 on CPO, the duty differential was reduced to 5 as there was no corresponding change in the duty of 7.5 on refined palmolein.
The industry as a whole has invested over Rs 5,000 crore and employs over 5,00,000 people.