KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 12): The French Parliament is still intent on pushing for an edible oils legislation that could include additional tax on palm oil when it convenes in November, said Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) chairman Datuk Lee Yeow Chor.

The French government would look into rationalising the taxation on vegetable oils and introduce a legislation to rationalise vegetable oils tax, he added.

"We don't know when that would be (introduced), but when we went to France with Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong last month, we mentioned that we are against any discriminatory tax on palm as that will affect the trade relationship with France," Lee told reporters after the opening of the Sixth Palm Oil Trade Fair and Seminar on "Overcoming challenges, maximising profits" today.

In March, the French government had planned to impose a new €90 (about RM416) per tonne tax on palm oil produced in developing nations. Malaysia is the world's second largest producer of palm oil.

The proposal had caused a furore among palm oil producers, trade associations and the Malaysian government which deemed it as 'discriminatory', following which plans were scrapped by the French Parliament in June although it proposed a new tax scheme on vegetable oils.

The French Parliament is expected to deliberate the scheme during the sitting in November, said Lee.

MPOC chief executive officer Tan Sri Yusof Basiron said the agenda to impose tax is still there as not all were removed in June.

"Overall tax restructuring and reformulation is being pursued because it was already worded in the conclusion during the debate in June.

"Obviously if it is there, somebody would follow up or work on it on different levels of sustainability committees set up to see how it can fit in the new tax structure it would formally impose; but it would also take time for them to do this, and that leaves some uncertainty as there is no definite date or agenda for us to know exactly," he said.