For Punjab’s sugar industry, business may remain bitter with the SAD-led State Government taking the sweetness away by indicating that it would not go back on its decision of imposing 11 per cent entry tax on sugar.
Notwithstanding repeated pleas by its alliance partner, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Opposition by the sugar industry, the State Government, it is believed, may neither revert its decision nor lower the entry tax from 11 percent.
The indications for the same came after the meeting between Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and BJP’s State unit president Kamal Sharma on Thursday ended with no words of assurance from the State head.
Sharma, who had created a flutter in the recent past by claiming that the BJP was not consulted in the decision to levy entry tax, on Thursday reiterated his stand. “I have raised this issue with the Chief Minister and told him that BJP was not taken into confidence while taking this decision,” he said.
State BJP chief informed that Badal, during the meeting, maintained that he was not aware that BJP was not informed about the decision.
“Chief Minister said that he was of the view that as the decision was taken in the resource mobilisation committee’s meeting where everyone, along with Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal and Kamal Sharma, are present, everyone’s aware of the decision,” Sharma said.
Sharma maintained that he was only aware of the cess on diesel, petrol, and electricity, which was also need of that hour in view of rural and urban development. “I told him that every time, when this issue was raised in the Vidhan Sabha, BJP opposed it and it was only because of that the issue was deferred every time. But, the decision has now been implemented without informing us,” he said.
He went on to add that 11 percent entry tax was not even included in the agenda for the Cabinet meeting. “Chief Minister justified the decision saying that the agenda of imposing 14 per cent entry tax on sugar was included, but we never approved to levy it more than 11 percent,” said Sharma.
Sharma said: “Because of low rates of sugar, the sugar mills could not be able to make payments to the farmers. The mills owe Rs 680 to the farmers. And in this situation, the farmers don’t have any money for their next year’s crop. The government was forced to impose the tax.”
State BJP president said that I have asked the Chief Minister to listen to the problems of the protesting sugar industrialists.
Punjab Cabinet, on May 20, gave its nod to impose 11 per cent tax on sugar coming into Punjab from other states. The move was based more on the concern for cooperative and private sugar mills operating in the state which are running into huge losses.
While the sugar industry are happy over the development, the wholesale sugar traders are against the decision and are demanding to roll back the tax as it will prove a big setback for them.