The Hindu Business Line : Sopa seeks tariff rate quota for soya oil import

The Sopa Chairman, Mr Rajesh Agrawal, in a letter to the Commerce Minister, Mr Kamal Nath, has said under the quota, the oil could be imported at the current customs duty rate of 45 per cent. Over and above this, the Government could charge a higher duty, he said.

Stating that re-negotiation of the 45 per cent bound duty rate for import of soyabean oil could be a long drawn out process, he said fixing such a quota would help soyabean farmers fetch better prices. Under the World Trade Organisation norms, a bound duty rate is the maximum that a Government can levy as customs duty.

For soyabean oil, the Government has signed an agreement to cap it at 45 per cent, while for other edible oils it can impose up to 300 per cent duty.

Currently, other refined edible oils attract 75 per cent customs duty.

Under the tariff quota regime, only a fixed quantity of a product can be imported at a lower duty. Such regime is in place for import of corn, skimmed milk power, safflower oil, sunflower seed, colza and rapeseed/mustard oil.

Last year, when soyabean oil imports were low, the farmers realised prices that were at least Rs 2,000 a tonne higher for their beans, while this year, when the shipments in the country were on the rise they were fetching lower prices, he said.

Pointing out to import data, he said nearly five lakh tonnes of soyabean oil had been imported between December and January.

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