Odisha issues notification for amended stamp duty act

Revised act to boost mining revenue collection by Rs 1,000 crore annually

The state revenue and disaster management department has issued notification for implementation of the amended provision of Indian Stamp (Odisha Amendment) Act, 2013, which is expected to increase revenue from the mining sector by Rs 1,000 crore per annum.

The act, which was passed in the last assembly session, enables the government to collect stamp duty from mines operated under deemed extension clause of Mineral Concession Rules (MCR), 1960, pending renewal of the lease period.

"The notification has been issued and all the district collectors have been advised to start collecting stamp duties from mines running under deemed extension," said a senior official of the state mines directorate.

The stamp duty charges were being collected during renewal of mining lease based on preliminary expenses, security deposits, surface rent along with highest amount of dead rent or royalty charged on the mineral excavated.

However, mines whose lease validity had lapsed and were running under deemed extension provision of MCR, did not have to pay the stamp duty.

Through the amendment in the Act, the state government has prescribed for levying 15 per cent stamp duty on mining leases in future as well as for preceding period from the mines operating under the deemed extension.

The newly inserted section 3 (A) of the Indian Stamp (Odisha Amendment) Act, 2013, says that on every instrument of grant or renewal of a mining lease, the stamp duty chargeable shall be equivalent to 15 per cent of royalty, calculated on the basis of highest annual extraction of minerals permitted under the approved mining plan multiplied by the lease validity period.

Earlier, the stamp duty was collected on the basis of an anticipatory amount of mineral extraction.

The government planned to introduce such amendment after its repeated attempt to convince the Union government to raise mining royalty went unheeded. As of now, about 330 applications of mine lessees are pending for renewal while 50 leaseholders are continuing operation under deemed extension provision.