Punjab cabinet exempts Suger Mills from purchase tax on suger cane

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Cabinet today accepted the recommendations of the committee headed by the state Chief Secretary with regard to waiver of purchase tax on sugarcane for the year 2014-15 as done by the states of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttrakhand.

A decision to this effect was taken in the meeting of Council of Ministers chaired by the Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal at CMO this morning.

Disclosing this here today a spokesperson of the Chief Minister's Office said that the Cabinet also decided to recover the previous arrears of purchase and other taxes from the Sugar Mills in annual equated installments. These decisions were taken in view of the uneconomic operations of the sugar mills all over the country due to increasing cane price and stagnant prices of sugar. The government intends to support sugar mills so that farmers continue to cultivate sugarcane.

The Cabinet has also decided to waive off the water user charges on tube wells run by Punjab Water Resources Management and Development Corporation (PWRMDC) @ Re 1 per unit for Kandi area and Rs 1.60 per unit electricity consumed for other areas. The Cabinet also decided to waive off the arrears amounting to Rs 6.50 crore recoverable from the shareholders of these tube wells. Pertinently to be mentioned here, the state government had levied the charges for water supplied through tube wells run by the erstwhile Punjab State Tube well Corporation now PWRMDC @ Re 1 per uit of Kandi area and Rs 1.60 per unit electricity consumed for other areas vide its notification no. 14/22/94-IW (2)/10440 dated 13/5/2003.

The Cabinet also approved to convert the ordinance regarding the levying of water cess @ Rs.50 per acre per crop instead of Abiana by amending the Indian Canal & Drainage Act, 1873, into bill for presenting in the forthcoming session of the state assembly. The water cess thus collected would be utilised for maintenance, upkeep and modernisation of the canals.