Karnataka Govt Returns Bill On Mineral Tax

25 Jan 2025 CW Team

According to sources from Raj Bhavan, the Governor had sent back the bill more than 20 days ago seeking some clarifications from the government, but has not received it back. The sources said that following the petition from the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) requesting the Governor not to clear the bill citing some legal issues, the Governor had sought clarifications and also asked the government to send it back along with a legal opinion.

Earlier, FIMI even appealed to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the Chief Secretary to withdraw the bill when the government proposed it. “Mineral tax bill is discriminatory and will, if brought into force, sound the death knell of the mining industry,” FIMI stated in the letter to the Governor, CM and to Chief Secretary. Sources from Raj Bhavan explained that the federation questioned the logic of imposing excessive levy amounting to three times the royalty on non-auctioned mines, along with the tax on mineral-bearing land.

The state government proposed and cleared the bill in the winter session of the legislature at Belagavi in December 2024. The bill was in accordance with the Supreme Court’s verdict on July 25, 2024, that states have the legislative right to impose tax on minerals.

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