Delay has led to fears that government might temporarily put off its plans to come out with the notification as the country is poised for a bumper oilseed crop.

"The chances of government immediately notifying import of soyabean and sunflower seeds under OGL are remote since the country is all set to harvest a bumper crop this year," Central Organisation for Oil Trade and Industry (COOIT) executive director KML Chhabra said.

When contacted, a top food ministry official denied the notification was being delayed due to the bumper crop.

"The commerce ministry is looking into it. It may have been delayed due to the large number of holidays," Ravi Prakash Sinha, secretary, sugar and edible oil department in food ministry said.

Last month, union cabinet cleared a proposal to allowimport of oilseeds like sunflower and split soyabean under OGL as part of government efforts to improve edible oil supply in the country and rein in rising prices of the commodity.

Chhabra said the delay in notification would not have any immediate bearing on the domestic prices, though it could have a negative impact on the prices in the long run.

India is all set to have a bumper kharif oilseed crop assisted by the 11th successive normal monsoon and an increase of nearly 15 lakh hectares under cultivation.

"We might harvest more than 62 lakh tonnes of soyabean seeds this year. A bright groundnut crop is also expected to keep prices under check in the next two to three months," Delhi Vegetable Oil Traders Association secretary Manubhai Patel said.

Indian Vanaspati Producers Association (IVPA) executive director IR Mehra said notifying the imports at this juncture would send out wrong signal to farmers and government would be seen jeopardising their interests.

Under OGL, an exporter can importunrestricted quantity of any goods paying the normal customs duty.

Government had also dropped its move to allow import of split soyabean seeds under advance import license following the decision to allow import of oilseeds under OGL.

Earlier this year, government had planned to allow import of one million tonnes of soyabean seed under advance license but its notification was delayed due to uncertainty over mode of import including whether soyabean should be imported in split form or split after arrival at ports.