Government is believed to have decided to impose 15% export duty on iron ore, used for making steel, which has seen a 50% increase in prices since January, thereby fuelling inflation. The decision was taken at the meeting of the Committee of Secretaries (CoS) on May 30, a highly placed source said. The CoS has also decided to roll back export duty on steel, barring primary and semi-finished products, in return for the Rs 4,000 per tonne reduction in prices announced by them early last month. An export duty at a specific rate of Rs 300 per tonne is imposed on iron ore with 62% of higher iron content and Rs 50 per tonne on lower grade ore. Under the new dispensation, the export duty would be based on the value of the product shipped abroad. Decisions on both rollback of export duty on steel and imposition of the same on its raw material are expected to announced in the next few days. "The Department of Revenue will notify the decision once the CoS minutes are issued,' an official said. Steel makers and iron ore producers have been at loggerheads over export of the raw material. Steel makers have been demanding restrictions on raw material export while iron ore producers had contended that the ore meant for exports was of no use to Indian steel-makers. PTI