The government has slashed basic customs duty on several edible oils, cutting the levy on crude palm and soybean oil by half and scrapping it entirely on crude sunflower oil.
Under the changes, the basic customs duty (BCD) on crude palm oil and crude soybean oil has been reduced to 5% from 10%.
The BCD on crude sunflower oil has been cut to nil from 10%.
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The government has also lowered duties on refined edible oils. The BCD on refined palm oil and refined soybean oil has been reduced to 27.5% from 32.5%, while the duty on refined sunflower oil has been cut to 22.5% from 32.5%.
The revised duties will take effect from September 24, according to Notification No. 31/2026-Customs dated September 23, 2026.
The duty cuts come at a time when vegetable oil prices in India have risen nearly 20% over the past year, raising concerns ahead of the September-November festive period, when demand typically picks up.
Lower import duties could help ease domestic edible-oil prices and support consumption of oils used in sweets, snacks and fried foods.
India is the world's biggest vegetable oil importer and meets nearly two-thirds of its demand through imports. Palm oil, soybean oil and sunflower oil are among the key imported varieties.
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India's edible-oil supplies come mainly from Malaysia, Indonesia, Argentina, Russia and Ukraine.
The latest duty changes are expected to reduce the import duty burden on key edible oils and could provide some relief to domestic consumers amid elevated prices.
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