Government raises custom duty on wheat from 20% to 30% to curb cheaper imports

New Delhi, May 26 (KNN) In a bid to curb cheaper imports and protect domestic growers, the government has raised the custom duty on wheat from 20% to 30%.

The move comes in the wake of record domestic production and fear of cheaper imports from international market.

The government has raised the duty to restrict overseas purchase so that domestic prices of wheat do not come under pressure and farmers get at least the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 1735 per quintal fixed for the 2017-18 crop year (July-June), according to media report.

Farmers have almost harvested the 2017-18 wheat crops and the government has procured about 33.3 million tonnes so far at the support price, as per the official data.

The government is looking at disposing of the procured huge quantity of wheat to bulk consumers like flour millers at a price of Rs 1900 per quintal at ex-Ludhiana price.

The import duty on walnut shell has also been increased from 30 % to 100 %, according to a notification issued by the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC).