No DEPB licence for Vegetable Oil

ALMOST all customs houses have stopped accepting DEPB (duty entitlement passbook) licences for clearance of imported vegetable oils and are insisting on cash payment of customs duty.

However, there is no evidence of written instructions from New Delhi to do so; but importers or their representatives are "told" by Revenue Department officials to arrange for cash payment instead of submitting DEPB licences since last three days. Importers purchase DEPB licenses from the open market. These licenses, issued to exporters as an incentive, are sold at a premium and contain certain amount of credit. The licenses submitted by importers to the customs house are debited in lieu of cash payment of customs duty.

Many importers have been caught unawares and are scrambling to arrange for cash payments that are huge, given the high value of the imported cargo and high rates of customs duty (45 per cent for soyabean oil, 65 per cent for crude palm oil, 75 per cent for refined palmolein).

Any delay (even 2-3 days) in processing DEPB backed clearance will result in importers becoming liable for huge costs in terms of demurrage etc.

Provocation for the sudden move is said to be a sharp decline in revenue collection from various ports. Use of DEPB route hits cash collection. It is to tide over falling cash collection that an informal decision not to accept DEPB seems to have been taken.

As a result, premium on such licenses is expected to fall sharply and hit exporters' interest.

"What the Commerce Minister has given is being taken away by the Finance Minister," an importer who also has major export interests lamented.

Source: Business Line, September 5' 2004