Just before the coming festive season, the central government has come into action mode to handle the kitchen budget. The rapid increase in sugar prices by 40 percent in the last two months has directly affected the pockets of the common man. To prevent the situation from getting out of control, the Central Government has taken a major policy step after almost a decade and has given the green signal to Sugar Import.
According to the notification issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), approval has been given to import 10 lakh metric tonnes of raw sugar into the country without custom duty. This entire process will be under Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ). In simple words, there will be no import duty on bringing raw sugar up to the fixed quota, so that the stock in the domestic markets can be increased immediately. This special discount will be applicable till 31st October.
After all, why did the situation of sugar import arise?
In fact, India is among the leading countries in the world in terms of sugar consumption. The demand for sweets and beverages increases manifold during big festivals like Rakhi, Diwali and Chhath. At a time when prices rose by 40 percent in just 60 days, fears of artificial shortage and hoarding intensified in the market.
Providing adequate raw materials to domestic refineries and mills became the first priority of the government. Experts say that when 10 lakh tonnes of raw sugar will come into the country from outside and will be processed and released into the retail market, then there will be an immediate stop to the rising prices.
Import exemption is given with conditions
Along with this relief, the government has also set many strict rules so that no one can take advantage of it. DGFT has made it clear that it will be mandatory to process the sugar coming under the duty-free window (Exim Code 170114) and sell it in the Indian market by October 31.
Traders who already have advance authorization under SION E-52 have been given the option to convert their consignments to the new TRQ system. However, if a company had earlier taken GST exemption at the time of import, then after coming under the new system, that exemption will have to be deposited back. The objective is clear that sugar should not just remain dumped in warehouses, but should reach retail shops.
Crackdown on hoarding has already been tightened
This is not the only step taken to control prices. Earlier, the Food and Public Distribution Department had fixed the stock limit for dealers and wholesalers from August 1 to November 30. The government believed that the surge seen in ex-mill rates was not matching the mathematics of actual demand and supply. Now, after this decision of reducing the import duty to zero, it is expected that the common consumer will not have to shell out much for sweets during the festive season.