To continue providing consumers with relief from the indirect tax burden, the government extended the reduced value-added tax (VAT) of 5% on cooking oil for an additional three months.
According to a notice from the Ministry of Finance, the benefit has been extended until December 31 after it expired on September 30.
In response to public demand over high essential commodity prices, slow delivery by mills and stockpiling by some traders, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) reduced the VAT on soybean oil and unrefined palm oil from 15% to 5% during import and exempted the indirect tax at the production and trading stages.