No running away from heat
On the day of the incident, the closest Met stations recorded a maximum temperature of 34–38 °C, along with a relatively high humidity (45 per cent), exacerbating the impact of the heat.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) in a recent notification has extended existing concessional import duties on specified edible oils up to March 31, 2023.
The move is aimed at increasing domestic supply and keeping prices under control.
According to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, “The concessional customs duty on edible oil import has been extended by another 6 months, which means that the new deadline will now be March 2023.”
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It further stated that prices of edible oil have been on a declining trend driven by a fall in global prices.
With falling global rates and lower import duties, retail prices of edible oils have fallen considerably in India, stated the Ministry.
The current duty structure on crude palm oil, RBD Palmolein, RBD palm oil, crude soybean oil, refined soybean oil, crude sunflower oil, and refined sunflower oil remains unchanged till March 31, 2023. The import duty on crude varieties of palm oil, soyabean oil, and sunflower oil is currently zero.
However, after considering 5 percent agricess and 10 percent social welfare cess, the effective duty on crude varieties of these three edible oils touches 5.5 percent.
The basic customs duty on refined varieties of palmolein and refined palm oil is 12.5 percent, while the social welfare cess is 10 percent.
So, the effective duty is 13.75 percent. For refined soybean and sunflower oil, the basic customs duty is 17.5 percent, and taking into account 10 percent social welfare cess, the effective duty comes to 19.25 percent.
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