MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (SHRI S.S.PALANIMANICKAM)
(a) Import of Vanaspati from Nepal (upto one lakh MT in a year), Bhutan
and Sri Lanka is alowed at nil basic customs duty.
(b) As per information available from the Directorate General of
Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, the quantity of Vanaspati
imported from Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan during last three
financial years was as under:
2003-04 2004-05 2005-06(Apr-Dec)
Sri Lanka NIL 22151 138096
Nepal 45015 18658 60411
Bhutan NIL NIL 2733
(c) Domestic Vanaspati industry has complained about the adverse impact
of duty free imports of Vanaspati from Sri Lanka and Nepal.
(d) Duty free imports of vanaspati from Nepal, have been restricted to
a quota of 1 lakh Metric tone in a Financial year. As regards
Sri Lanka, steps taken by the Government include
(i) canalizing
imports of Vanaspati from Sri lanka and
(ii) making adherence of
guidelines prescribed under the Prevention of Food Adulteration
(PFA) Act for such imports, mandatory.
(e) Imports of Vananspati at nil rate from Sri Lanka are as per India`s
commitment under Indo-Srilanka Free Trade Agreement. Palm oil is
not covered under any such agreement. Import duty on edible oils
including palm oils are fixed taking into consideration various
factors including the need to protect domestic edible oil industry.
