Govt slashes import duty on crude, refined palm oil, move to hurt refiners

The government on Wednesday slashed import duty on refined palmolein from 50 per cent to 45 per cent, while that on crude palm oil (CPO) from 40 per cent to 37.5 per cent with immediate effect, a move that the industry opposed saying it will hurt domestic refiners.
 
A notification in this regard has been issued by the finance ministry. The duty cut has been made under the ASEAN agreement and the India-Malaysia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, it said. Opposing the move, the Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) said that after the reduction in import duty, the tax difference between CPO and refined palmolein has reduced from 10 per cent to 7.5 per cent. "This will have serious impact on domestic palm oil refining industry and oilseeds farmers. We fear import of refined palmolien would increase and capacity utilisation of our industry would be affected," SEA Executive Director B V Mehta said.