The VAT (value added tax) exemption facility on edible oil has been scrapped as the government has not extended the exemption which was in force till Friday.
Earlier, the government waived VAT to rein in the soaring prices of the essential cooking ingredient to keep it affordable for consumers.
In March, the price of edible oil in the local market started increasing and at one stage, the price exceeded Tk 200 per litre.
On March 14, the National Board of Revenue (NBR), in a notification, slashed 20 per cent VAT — 15 per cent at the production stage and 5 per cent at the consumer level — to give some relief to consumers.
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Two days later, it also reduced VAT at the import level to 5 per cent from the existing 15 per cent.
The exemption facility for the refiners and traders was set until June 30.
Later, in another notification on July 3, the VAT exemption period was extended till September 30.
Although the period expired on Friday, NBR has not issued any fresh notification for an extension.
According to the Ministry of Commerce, currently, there is a demand for 20 lakh tonnes of edible oil per year.
Of those, 2 lakh tonnes are procured from the local market and the remaining 18 lakh tonnes are being imported.
At present, bottled soybean oil costs Tk 192 per litre and loose soybean oil Tk 175 per litre. A five-litre bottle of the commodity has been retailed at Tk 945.
Besides, the price of palm oil has been fixed at Tk 133 per litre.
