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Edible Oil Sector Seeks Budget Boost
29 Jan
Summary
- SEA requests uniform import duties on all crude edible oils.
- Concerns raised over duty-free imports from Nepal affecting farmers.
- Dedicated fund sought for accelerated soybean MSP procurement.
The Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) has submitted a pre-Budget memorandum advocating for robust policy support for the domestic edible oil and allied sectors in the forthcoming Budget 2026-27. SEA is pushing for a uniform duty structure on all crude edible oils to rectify current disparities where some oils face higher duties than others, which creates market distortions.
Furthermore, SEA is calling for stricter regulation of duty-free edible oil imports from Nepal. They argue that excessive imports are undermining domestic refining capacity, suppressing oilseed prices, and leading to revenue losses for the government. To counter this, SEA proposed enforcing origin rules and value addition criteria for these imports.
The association also highlighted the plight of soybean farmers, urging the government to allocate a dedicated fund of at least ₹5,000 crore for accelerated Minimum Support Price (MSP) procurement. This measure aims to ensure timely support, improve farmer confidence, and build essential buffer stocks for the edible oil economy.
Additionally, SEA requested a uniform 5 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) on de-oiled ricebran (DORB) to resolve tax anomalies and curb malpractices. They also sought GST refunds for unutilised input tax credit under the inverted duty structure for edible oils.
