GUWAHATI, Dec 1 ? The State Government will introduce a Bill in the next session of the State Assembly to effect an amendment to the Assam Taxation (on Specified Land) Act, 2001 with a view to bringing natural gas, crude oil, coal and lime stone to the taxable item?s list.
Announcing this here today, Minister of State for Planning and Finance Himanta Biswa Sarma said that this amendment was sought to be brought in consonance with a judgement of the Supreme Court of India, said official sources here.
The State Government has proposed to levy a cess at the rate of Rs 200 on per MT of the crude oil and a similar amount on each cubic metre of natural gas. Thereby, Government is expecting an earning between Rs 150 crore and Rs 200 crore annually. These amounts will be spent on the development of oil and natural gas sector in the State in line with Gujarat, said the sources.
The State Government is also contemplating levying of tax on the crude imported by the Digboi Refinery from Kharsing in Arunachal Pradesh. It is also holding discussions with the Numaligarh Refinery Ltd authorities on the revenue aspect of the product pipeline the refinery has proposed to carry its products to Siliguri, said the sources.
It may be mentioned here that a constitution bench of the Supreme Court of India had recently observed that State Governments could levy tax on the coal produced within their territories. The Apex Court judgement came in response to a petition filed by the Coal India Ltd, which challenged the decision of the West Bengal Government to levy tax on the coal produced within that province.