The Government has hiked import duty on edible oil by five per cent in all categories. Central Board of Excise and Customs issued a notification in this regard. Import duty on crude edible oil has been hiked from 7.5 per cent to 12.5 per cent and on refined edible oil from 15 to 20 per cent. Edible oil imports are likely to increase to 14 million tonnes in the 2014-15 from 11.6 million tonnes in the previous year.
Imports of vegetable oils, which include both edible and non-edible oils, rose by 23 per cent to 11.72 million tonnes during November-August period as against 9.52 million tonnes in the same period last year. The industry had demanded hike in import duty on crude edible oil from 7.5 per cent to 25 per cent and refined edible oil from 15 per cent to 45 per cent.
