India scraps customs duty on crude palm, soy, sunflower oil

New Delhi: The Centre has scrapped customs duty on crude varieties of palm, soybean, and sunflower oil, the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Piyush Goyal informed on Wednesday.

The move is expected to bring down prices and increase domestic availability in the festive season. "Keeping in mind the interests of the consumers, the Narendra Modi-led government has decided to scrap customs duty on crude varieties of palm, soybean, and sunflower oil. This will bring down the prices of edible oil and benefit crores of consumers," read Goyal's tweet roughly translated from Hindi.

The duty cuts will be effective from October 14 till March 31 next year, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) said in a notification.