Govt to impose regulatory duty on imported edible oil

The government has decided to impose regulatory duty on imported edible oil in a bid to promote self-sufficiency at the local level and boost exports.

According to sources inside the Ministry of Food Security, sunflower and canola will be cultivated on 600,000 acres at the local level, and local production will be protected by increasing taxes due to the decrease in the price of imported edible oil.

Regulatory duty of up to 5 per cent will be imposed on imported edible oil and a 2 per cent additional import duty will be applicable as well. Moreover, a 17 percent sales tax will also be levied.

The sources inside the ministry believed that the imposition of taxes on imported edible oil would discourage imports, and the price of 40kg of edible oil would be fixed at Rs7,000 at the local level.

By increasing the production of edible oil at the local level, more than $7 billion would be saved annually.