AMN /NEW DELHI
Government of India today imposed ten per cent import duty on wheat and Tur dal with immediate effect to protect farmers’ interest amid projection of a record crop this year. On 8th of December last year, the government had reduced customs duty on wheat to zero from 10 per cent to boost domestic availability and check retail prices. There has been nil duty on tur dal.
Announcing the decision in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal said, a notification issued in March 2012 has further been amended to impose basic customs duty of ten per cent on wheat and tur. He said the estimated revenue implication of this decision is about 840 crore rupees at the current levels of imports.
The move will help curb sharp fall in the wholesale prices of these commodities and ensure support price to farmers.
As per the government’s second estimate, wheat production is estimated at record 96.64 million tonnes in the 2016-17 crop year as against 92.29 million tonnes in 2015-16 on the back of a good monsoon. Similarly, tur dal production is estimated to be 4.23 million tonnes as against 2.56 million tonnes in the said period.