Saralnama
The food ministry has forwarded the vegetable oil industry's request to the finance ministry to lift restrictions on GST refunds for accumulated Input Tax Credit (ITC), with hopes that the GST Council will address the issue in its next meeting. Since July 2022, the edible oil sector has faced challenges due to an inverted duty structure where edible oils attract a 5% GST rate while input materials are taxed at 12-18%, leading to unutilised tax credits and cash flow problems, especially for small and medium enterprises. The Indian Vegetable Oil Producers' Association has urged the government to remove these restrictions and treat edible oils similarly to butter and ghee, which retain refund benefits. The Centre has proposed a new GST rate structure to rationalise slabs, and new regulations require all vegetable oil producers to register with the Directorate of Sugar and Vegetable Oils and submit monthly production and stock reports to improve transparency and price stability. The ministry plans awareness campaigns to increase compliance, noting that about 20% of industry players account for 80-90% of production, which will help generate reliable data for policy decisions. (Updated 26 Aug 2025, 15:32 IST; source: link)