India Lifts Import Duty On 2 Edible Oils, Restricts Sugar Exports To Ease Domestic Prices

New Delhi: To tackle mounting inflation, the Centre has exempted customs duty and agri cess on yearly import of 20 lakh MT each of crude soybean and sunflower oil till March 2024, an official notification said.

“This will provide significant relief to the consumers,” the CBIC tweeted.

Notably, India is one of the top importers of vegetable oil in the world and the oil prices jumped as much as 17% last month. The prices skyrocketed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a ban on palm oil exports by Indonesia.

Sugar exports have also been restricted to 100 lakh tonnes to maintain enough domestic supply and prevent price rise. “Sugar mills and exporters need to take approvals in form of Export Release Orders from Directorate of Sugar, Department of Food and Public Distribution,” the statement read.