Santanu:
I read some unflattering views about the program recently: That these industries were running front operations in Assam. That they were bringing in finished goods merely to package them with the excise tag, without creating the jobs the program was meant to. I have no difficulty believing the charges. So what else is new? Do you think perhaps the abuses could have been plugged, instead of eliminating the incentives altogether? c-da At 1:48 PM -0500 3/7/03, Santanu Roy wrote: > From The telegraph. > >Thakur picks up budget cudgels >- Anger over excise blow to Northeast >OUR BUREAU > >Guwahati/New Delhi, March 6: Union minister for development of the >Northeast C.P. Thakur today described certain measures envisaged in the >budget for 2003-04 as �detrimental� to the economic health of the region >and said the matter was �serious enough� to be taken up with the Prime >Minister. > >�The policies being followed by the Union finance ministry are >short-sighted and do not take into account the ground realities in the >Northeast. Otherwise, what was the need to initiate any step that is >contradictory to the one announced by the ministry of commerce and >industry?� he told The Telegraph after a meeting with the Northeast MPs� >Forum. > >The Northeast industrial policy, introduced by the Union ministry of >commerce and industry in 1997 for a period of 10 years, had offered >incentives like tax holidays and exemption from excise duty to >industries that would set up manufacturing units in the states of the >region. > >However, modifications to the policy by the finance ministry have raised >the hackles of industrialists and legislators of the Northeast. With >finance minister Jaswant Singh abiding by his predecessor�s decision to >cut excise duty exemption to the four refineries of the Northeast by >half, it is estimated that Numaligarh Refinery alone will lose Rs 230 >crore annually. > >Singh also rolled back excise duty exemption on cigarettes and pan >masala, which had been offered in 1999 as an incentive for investment in >the Northeast. The lifting of the exemption is with �retrospective >effect�, which means that companies that had set up units in the region >would have to refund the entire amount of money they had gained with the >provision. > >In a memorandum to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee yesterday, the >Northeast MPs� Forum said: �Probably nowhere in the world are incentives >given under a declared policy of government withdrawn retrospectively in >detriment to the cause of the people, and that too of a very sensitive >region. Such action, if not halted, will generate a permanent negative >impact.� > >Thakur said the Northeast industrial policy had been introduced after >careful planning. �Two ministries working at cross-purposes indicates >either a communication gap or the finance ministry�s lack of seriousness >in developing the Northeast,� he said. > >Manoj Jajodia of Promote Industrial North East, an organisation of >entrepreneurs, said the decision would make prospective investors �think >twice before venturing into the region, which has always been a Kalapani >for them anyway�. > >Excise-duty exemption on cigarette and pan masala had prompted corporate >giants like ITC and VST to set up units in Assam. As many as 14 such >units were set up in the state since 1999. > >Industry sources said these units started winding up after the Centre >called a halt to the process of excise-duty refund in July 2000. The >last unit closed shop in December that year. > >The president of the Federation of Industries and Commerce of the >Northeastern Region, Abhijit Baruah, said the move was �absurd�. His >counterpart in the Northeast Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chiranjit >Chaliha, argued that exemptions should not be withdrawn without valid >reasons. �A lot of money invested by many companies has gone down the >drain,� he said. > >Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi is backing the campaign by the >Northeast MPs� Forum. > >_______________________________________________ >Assam mailing list >[EMAIL PROTECTED] >http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/listinfo/assam _______________________________________________ Assam mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/listinfo/assam
