In a move aimed at cooling retail inflation and stabilizing domestic prices, the Government of India has reduced the Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on major imported crude edible oils — including crude sunflower, soybean, and palm oil — from 20% to 10%, effective immediately. The decision was announced on June 11, 2025, by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.
This revision narrows the duty gap between crude and refined edible oils to 19.25%, a step designed to promote domestic refining and reduce reliance on refined oil imports. The government expects the reduced BCD to lower landed costs, offering price relief to consumers while easing food inflation pressures that have intensified since the import duty hike in September 2024.
Officials emphasized that the revised structure would discourage the import of refined palmolein, redirecting demand toward crude variants, particularly crude palm oil, and thus boosting the domestic refining sector’s viability and capacity utilization.
A coordination meeting chaired by the Secretary of the Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) directed edible oil associations to ensure the benefit is passed down to consumers. Associations have been instructed to update Price to Distributors (PTD) and Maximum Retail Prices (MRP) in line with the duty reduction and share weekly price updates with the government.
This intervention, according to the ministry, comes after a detailed review of surging edible oil prices and is intended to create a level playing field for domestic refiners while safeguarding consumers from further inflationary stress.
Ahmedabad Plane Crash