IMPORT POLICY
OF EDIBLE OILS
Import of all edible
oils is under Open General Licence (OGL) except coconut oil, which
is canalised through the State Trading Corporation(STC). To harmonise
the interests of domestic oilseed growers, consumers and processors
and to curb the import of edible oils, the duty structure on edible
oils has been revised from time to time. The import duty on crude
vegetable edible oils, which was 15 per cent in 1998, was raised
to 75 per cent in 2001 (except 45 per cent for crude soyabean
oil), 75 per cent for rapeseed oil and 65 per cent for crude palm
oil. The duty on refined oils including palmolein was raised in
2001 to 85 per cent (basic) except in the cases of soyabean and
mustard oils, where the basic duty is kept at 45 per cent and
75 per cent respectively due to WTO binding. In addition, 4 per
cent duty is levied on refined oils.
Liberalisation
of Export Policy
To boost the export
of oilseeds, extractions and oils, some of the important measures
are taken recently.
They include export
of vegetable oils such as coconut oil, cottonseed oil, kardi oil,
linseed oil, mustard oil, niger seed oil, palm oil, palm kernel
oil, rice bran oil, salad oil, sunflower oil and soya bean oil
have been made free.
Export restrictions
like registration and packaging requirements have been removed
from groundnut oil.
As a result of the
liberalised policy of the Government, export earnings from these
edible oils showed a growth of 12.2 per cent between 1998-99 to
2001-02.
To check under-invoicing
in edible oil imports, the Government has fixed tariff value on
import of crude palm oil and palmolein oil.
Trade between India
and Nepal is governed by the Indo-Nepal Treaty of Trade which
allows duty-free entry of Nepalese products into the Indian market
without any value addition.
Edible Oils Packaging (Regulation)Order,
1998
The Edible Oils Packaging
(Regulation) Order, 1998 was promulgated on September 17, 1998
under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 to restore consumers
confidence and to ensure availability of safe and quality edible
oils, conforming to the standards of quality in packed form to
the consumers. The powers for implementation of the order have
been delegated to the State governments. Andhra Pradesh, Himachal
Pradesh, Karnataka, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamilnadu and NCT of Delhi
have already begun to implement the order while Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Pondicherry, Tripura and Kerala have notified the
registering authority, inspecting officers and registration fees.
(PIB Features)
