NEW DELHI, Oct 19 (Bernama) -- The Indian government has clarified thatimported palm oil consignments not meeting the stipulated minimum 500 mgper kg total carotenoids specification would attract 75 percent basiccustoms duty.

The clarification comes from the Ministry of Finance in the wake ofreports about customs authorities in Chennai and the Jawaharlal Nehru PortTrust (JNPT) levying duties ranging from 85 percent to 100 percent onimported oils not conforming to the definition of "crude palm oil (CPO)and its fractions, of edible grade", following a Revenue Department'snotification dated Aug 1, 2003, says a report in the financial daily, theHindu Business Line.

This in turn requires the oil to have an acid value of two pints, or moreand total carotenoid (as beta carotene) in the range of 500-2,500 mg perkg in loose or in bulk form.

The confusion lay over the duty applicable on oil not conforming to thisdefinition, the report says.

While domestic processors/refiners of imported vegetable oil have claimedthat duty ought to be 75 percent as it is in the case of RBD (refined,bleached, deodorised) palm oil or RBD palm olein the customs authoritieshave, however, been making their own interpretations on grounds thatCustoms tariffs does not explicitly specify duty chargeable on oils thatis neither "crude", nor "refined".

In a circular issued, the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, hasclarified that "if a variety of palm oil does not meet the definition ofCPO adopted by the government of India and it is also not RBD palm oil, itwill be classified under the residuary category of the Customs Tariff andleviable to duty at the rate of 75 percent."

-- BERNAMA