Govt extends tax break for industry in hills till 2027

Girja Shankar Kaura

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 16

Industries in the North-Eastern and Himalayan states will continue to get tax exemption till March 2027, albeit as refund, under the current GST regime which was rolled out on July 1, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said today.

“Within the framework of the GST Act, each industry will be entitled to its own refund mechanism during this particular period,” he said. At a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government approved the scheme of providing budgetary support under the GST regime for the eligible industrial units in Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and North-Eastern states, including Sikkim.

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A budgetary support of Rs 27,413 crore has been approved from July 1, 2017, to March 31, 2027, for such industrial units located in these states which availed the benefit of central excise exemption prior to coming into force of the GST regime.

Jaitley said since there was no provision of exemption from excise duty under the GST Act, the decision was taken to provide the budgetary support.

Upon repeal of the central excise duty laws, the government has decided to refund the central share of CGST and SGST to the affected eligible industrial units for the residual period in the states of North-Eastern region and Himalayan states.

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion will notify the scheme, including detailed operational guidelines for implementation of the scheme within six weeks.

It is estimated that a total number of 4,284 eligible units located in the states will be benefitted from the scheme.

Industries in the North-Eastern and Himalayan states under the previous excise regime used to get 10-year exemption, he said. As per the scheme, industries which commenced operations during the period got excise tax holiday for 10 years, Jaitley said, adding that there was a separate residuary period for every industry because of commencement of production and their consequent entitlement of 10-year exemption.