In a move that intends to increase the availability of the commodity in the domestic market, the government has slashed the basic customs duty rate on crude palm oil to 27.5-percent,. The duty cut would also help reduce the rise in edible oil prices in domestic markets.

The CBIC  (Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs) in its notification said the basic customs duty rate on crude palm oil has been revised to 27.5 -percent effective from 27 November 2020 from 37.5-percent earlier.

Palm oil constitutes over 40-percent of India's total edible oil consumption. Edible oil is India's third-largest imported commodity after crude oil and gold. The country is also the world's largest importer of edible oil and buys around 15 million tonnes annually from countries including Malaysia and Indonesia. Earlier in January, the government had slashed customs duty on crude palm oil from 40-percent to 37.5-percent for imports from the Association of South-East Asian Nations countries.

The retail inflation, based on the consumer price index, was at a six-year high of 7.61 -percent in October, while wholesale price-based inflation rose to an eight-month high of 1.48-percent.

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