With an aim to increase revenue from mining lease stamp duty, the state government has amended the duty structure through a notification.
Earlier, the stamp duty charges for a mining lease included preliminary expenses, security deposits, surface rent along with highest amount of dead rent or royalty charged on the mineral excavation amount.
In the newly introduced norm, the state government has prescribed that while calculating royalty on the amount of minerals excavated, the figure showed in the mining plan should be considered as the basis, and not the anticipated amount suggested by local mining officer as per previous practice.
“Since the mining plan contains details of production for coming five years, duly approved by a statutory authority, the highest annual production planned should form the basis for assessment of stamp duty, taking into account the amount of royalty that would accrue out of the said level of production,” said a the notification issued by the state steel and mines department.
The amendment also said, in case of a modification of mining plan , the stamp duty should be reassessed on the differential production level and the lessee should deposit the additional stamp duty before the production enhancement is carried out.
According to government sources, the state mines department has been working hard to expedite clearance of 240 mining lease renewal cases very soon. The change in the stamp duty structure is expected to cost more to the miners intending to renew their leases, experts said.
“The new amendment should make the stamp duties expensive as the duty levied on the basis of mining plan will be much higher than the amount charged for an anticipatory amount,” said a city-based mining consultant who did not wish to be named.
The state government took the steps to amend stamp duty structure for mining leases after receiving severe criticism from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
The auditor had pointed out that the Orissa government allowed to collect stamp duty on leases on the basis of anticipated mineral excavation figure instead of depending on mining plan figure, and therefore caused revenue loss to the state exchequer.
