Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (VMA) has urged the Centre to restore the concessional customs duty of 25 per cent on crude palm oil (CPO) and to re-introduce the deferential customs duty on import of CPO for use in the manufacture of vanaspati and for refining, with a duty differential of at least 30 per cent.
It has also urged for a re-imposition of the four per cent special additional duty on import of vanaspati from Nepal.
The association has demanded restoration of the condition attached to the import of CPO so as to restrict access to the commodity to those factories which have hydrogen-generation facilities for manufacture of vanaspati.
In its pre-budget memorandum, VMA chairman Pramod Duggar said in order to reduce the cost of raw material and discourage import of finished vanaspati, the government should restore the concessional customs duty of 25 per cent on CPO as prevailing prior to March 1, 2001.
