Mineral Body Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) urged the Indian Government to waive statutory mineral payments towards royalty, District Mineral Foundation (DMF), and National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) till March 31 next year. FIMI said that such a step will help reduce the financial burden on the mining sector. The body also demanded that royalty rates in India should be made at par with other mineral-rich countries.
FIMI praised the Rs20lakh crore($265bn) special economic package announced by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The industry body expressed hope that the stimulus will give relief to the ‘highly taxed and struggling’ mining sector, in a statement released on Wednesday.
Export Duty waiver
While regurgitating the old demand, the mining body yet again, demanded the removal of 30pc export duty on iron ore with 58pc Fe. FIMI said there aren’t enough domestic consumers for this type of iron ore and therefore 162mn mt of iron ore is lying idle at several mines across the country.
The mining body further demanded a 15pc export duty waiver on non-metallurgical grade bauxite as this will give an impetus to smaller miners. FIMI added that around 72pc of the mining blocks cover less than 50 hectares area and fall under micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) segment.
GST
FIMI urged that the Goods and Service Tax (GST) rate on input material used in mining should be cut down to 5pc at par with the sale of miners and similarly, GST on royalty should be removed as it amounts to double taxation. GST compensation cess on coal at the rate of Rs400/mt should be waived off as coal is a basic commodity ensuring power supply at a competitive price.
DMF or CSR
FIMI demanded that miners should be allowed to pay either to the District Mineral Foundation ( DMF) or Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as both are for local area development.
Free COVID -19 tests
While raising COVID-19 safety and precaution measures for labour-intensive mines in the MSME segment, FIMI demanded that district administration in the respective areas should provide free of cost testing facility for mine workers.