Area
India
Commodity Group
Oilseeds, oils and meals
Commodity
Oils and fats
Date
01/07/2017
Policy Category
Consumption and marketing
Policy Instrument
Food standards
Description
Confirmed that a revised standard for edible oils and fats would come into force on 1 July 2017, including a redefinition of inter-esterified vegetable fat and new rules regarding the use of food grade enzymes in oil refining processes.
Notes
Under Indias new Goods & Services Tax, GST (rolled out on 1st July 2017), oilseeds and vegetable oils fall in the 5 percent tax category, blended oil and margarine attract 18 percent tax, and oilmeals are tax-exempted. Essentially, the new classification is comparable to that applied under the previous value-added tax regime. However, the countrys industry associations demanded that oilseeds be moved to the zero tax bracket akin to other essential commodities like rice, wheat and sugar, while blended oil and margarine should be taxed at 5 percent.
