Goa earns Rs129 cr as stamp duty from renewal of mining leases

As the deadline to pay stamp duty for renewal of mining leases draws to an end today, the Goa government has earned a revenue of Rs 129 crore from five firms, which were issued notices for renewal of their mining operations, a senior mines department official said.
This revenue was collected in the form of stamp duty by Goa State Mines and Geology Department, from five leases, which have now been granted permission to operate for next 20 years, the official said.
The consent given by the department for all 100-odd mining leases had expired in 2007. Now, the state government has begun issuing notices to mining firms, after verifying their documents to renew the leases, asking them to pay the duty.

In the first phase, the Mines Department had taken up the leases which are located outside the forest area.
"There are 42 such leases of which seven were issued notices," the official said, adding that five of them have paid the duty.
The department had set February 28 as the last date for all the seven mining leases to pay the duty, after which notices for rest of the mines would be issued.

For this current fiscal, an official said, total 15 mining leases would be issued notices that would mop up a revenue of Rs 252 crore for the state treasury.

"We have already issued another set of notices for additional seven mining leases (besides the seven in the first lot) who have been given the deadline of March 7 to pay the stamp duty," he said.
The Goa government, which came under attack for sheltering illegal mining activity and allowing mining leases to operate without proper permissions, had amended Indian Stamp Duty Act 2012, making it mandatory for mine owners to pay 15 per cent of the amount of royalty on the mining extract for next 20 years.