National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories President Jai Prakash Dandegaonkar hailed the central decision of waiving off income tax from the sugar cooperatives and thanked Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah.
“It will be a big relief especially for the Sugar co-ops of the country. The total taxable amount is over Rs 9,000 crore between 1992-2012. And this decision will help the 100 Sugar mills of Maharashtra and around 40 of Bihar, Gujarat, and Karnataka, said Dandegaonkar to this correspondent on the phone.
The decision taken by the Minister for Cooperation Amit Shah, after consultation with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, will help alleviate the cumulative tax burden for 116 sugar mills in Maharashtra. The decision was taken on January 7.
Earlier, Maharashtra former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the leaders associated with Sugar Co-ops met Shah in Delhi.
Indian Express reports the center has relieved all sugar mills including cooperative sugar mills of the tax burden by putting payments made to cane farmers and payments exceeding FRP beyond taxation. FRP is the minimum price sugar mills have to pay to cane growers as prescribed by the center.
Speaking at the Efficiency Awards distribution ceremony of the National Federation of Cooperative Factories (NFCSF) held recently at NCUI headquarters in Delhi, NCP Supremo Sharad Pawar had also demanded the waiving off this burden on sugar co-ops.
Thanking the Modi govt for waiving off income tax dues on sugar mills for the last five years due to Corona,
Pawar pleaded that the tax levied since 1992-93 must be waived off to ease the burden on sugarcane growers. “There are dues for more than 24 years and even if the mills are sold, the dues cannot be repaid. If you want to save the sector, please get dues waived”, Pawar had exhorted.
Pawar also said that Indian Sugarcane farmers have a huge opportunity this year as the major sugar-producing countries such as Brazil and Australia have registered a low production.
The important event had B L Verma, Junior Union Co-op Minister as the chief guest and the captains of sugar co-ops were present on the occasion.
