Indian Tariff Comm'n Favours Higher Refined Palm O
NEW DELHI, June 18 Asia Pulse - In the run-up to the Union Budget, theTariff Commission (TC) has recommended a hike in customs duty on refinedpalm oils by 5 per cent to make domestic refining of crude oilseconomically more viable.
"Tariff Commission's recommendation on the contentious palm oil duty issuehas been received. It has suggested increasing the duty differentialbetween crude and refined palm oils to 10 per cent from the present 5 percent," official sources told PTI.
They said the decision will now be taken by the Finance Ministry on how torestructure, if at all, the duty on various segments of edible oils ofwhich India is the largest importer sourcing nearly half of itsrequirements from abroad.
If the TC's recommendation is accepted it would imply a 75 per cent importduty on RBD Palmolein and RBD Palm oil against 65 per cent duty on CPO(Crude Palm Oil).
However, sources said Finance Ministry in its discretion can also cut theduty on CPO to 60 per cent while retaining the duty on refined plam oilsat 70 per cent.
The issue had been referred to the Tariff Commission in Department ofRevenue after the Directorate of Vanaspati had favoured a higher dutydifferential between crude and refined palm oils last year.
The TC had then done a cost benefit analysis, trying to figure out thecost of refining imported CPO and margins earned thereof. It had thencompared these costs with actual price at which RBD Palm and Palmoleinoils were available.
Industry had alleged it was not economically viable to process crude oilsin wake of the cheap availability of refined palm oils.
(PTI)
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