The Hindu Business Line : Plantations to get low-interest loan

THE United Planters' Association of Southern India (Upasi) feels "reassured" after its delegation met the Union Finance Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, and the Commerce Minister, Mr Arun Jaitley, and discussed with them the continuing crisis in the plantation industry.

The leader of the delegation and President of Upasi, Mr P.S. Walia, told Business Line here on Friday that his team was "reassured" to note that the reduced interest rate facility available for working capital loan announced in the Budget 2003-04 would cover the plantation sector too.

He said Upasi had been pleading for removal of excise duty of Re 1 per kg on tea for the past one year to alleviate, at least a part of, the huge losses the tea plantations was incurring.

The Finance Minister, he said, pointed out that all other benefits available for the excise duty such as duty drawbacks and clearance of tea meant for exports without payment of duty, continuation of the facility of Cenvat would be made available to the new levy of additional duty as well.

The Finance Minister was also of the view that the facility of Section 33 AB under the Income-Tax Act provided to coffee similar to tea would also be extended to natural rubber as demanded by Upasi.

Mr Walia said UPASI also took up the long-pending issue of double taxation of income with respect to rubber. Income from natural rubber was long assessed under the State Agricultural Income Tax, which was subsequently extended to Central Income Tax from assessment year 1994-95. This was based on a Kerala High Court order that certain grades of rubber manufactured qualified to be assessed under the I-T Act.

As demanding tax on income already assessed to tax under the State Agricultural Income tax tantamounted to double taxation, the Finance Minister was convinced that double taxation on the same income being levied should be resolved immediately.

The delegation, comprising the Upasi Vice-President, Mr B.B. Medaiah, the Chairman, Coffee Committee, Mr Anil Kumar Bhandari, and Mr Ullas Menon, Secretary-General, met senior officials of the Commerce and Finance Ministries too.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication

Stories in this Section
Plantations to get low-interest loan

Rubber futures trading set to begin — National multi-commodity bourse to offer online facility

Buying props rubber prices

NECC to import 20,000 t maize

AP: Joint plan mooted to combat pest — Coconut farmers seek plan to combat mite

Equip farmers to face foreign competition