Government to extend VAT exemption for coffee and cacao beans

The Agricultural Ministry said Wednesday the government will extend the value-added tax exemption on coffee and cacao beans through 2025 to alleviate consumers' burden amid inflation.

Coffee products are displayed at a supermarket in Seoul. [NEWS1]

The Agricultural Ministry said Wednesday the government will extend the value-added tax exemption on coffee and cacao beans through 2025 to alleviate consumers' burden amid inflation.

The country has been exempting a 10-percent value-added tax on coffee and cacao bean imports since July 2022, amid growing concerns over inflation. The policy was initially scheduled to expire in December.

Consumer prices rose 3.2 percent from a year earlier in December, marking the fifth consecutive month that prices have stayed above the 3 percent level, although the growth has slowed down for two months in a row. Prices of agricultural products surged by 15.7 percent, the highest since April 2021.

To further ease consumers' burden, the ministry added that it is also seeking to adopt a tariff-rate quota system for 26 major products, including sugar, sunflower oil, processed egg products and corn this year.

Under this policy, products are imported with favorable duty conditions within a designated volume.

BY KIM JU-YEON, YONHAP [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]