Tax worries halt Indian crude soyoil import deals

NEW DELHI, March 23 (Reuters) - India's vegetable oil traders have stopped striking deals to import crude soyoil, usually shipped from Brazil and Argentina, because of uncertainty over changes in import tax, traders said on Monday.

India's trade secretary announced a cut in the import tax on crude soyoil last Thursday, but a formal order to change the levy has still not been issued.

"No deals are happening as uncertainty prevails in the market," Sandeep Bajoria, a leading trader and a former president of the Solvent Extractors' Association of India, told Reuters.

Traders say they need a formal government order despite the announcement.

"Traders are eagerly awaiting the official order on the tax withdrawal. The vegetable oil trade is interested to know whether any rider has been attached to the announced tax cut," said B.V. Mehta, executive director of Solvent Extractors' Association.

Mehta said the official order might be issued soon. In a similar situation, the government eased import rules for raw sugar last month, but the formal order, on the basis of which traders could import, was issued two weeks after the trade minister announced the change.

India, a net edible oil importer, buys mainly palm oil from Indonesia, Malaysia, and a small quantity of soy oil from Brazil and Argentina.

India has imported 281,349 tonnes of soyoil since November when the new oil year bagan. India imported 759,433 tonnes of soy oil in 2007-08. (Reporting by ratnajyoti Dutta; editing by James Jukwey)