Revised SSP policy to allow subsidy to all manufacturers

The government has revised the recently-announced single sulphur phosphate (SSP) fertiliser policy to allow all SSP manufacturers to avail of the subsidy irrespective of their production volume.

Earlier, only those companies that produced at least 100,000 tonnes annually were eligible for the subsidy. Other firms had to ride piggy-back on the marketing network of bigger companies to claim the subsidy. The SSP is a cheap and effective alternative to DAP (diammonium phosphate) and is primarily used in oilseeds, pulses, sugarcane and horticulture.

The move is expected to benefit at least 60 fertiliser companies across the country. There are 74 SSP makers, including bigger ones like Jubilant Organosys, Tata Chemicals and Khaitan Chemicals.

 

The revision has already been notified and comes after SSP manufacturers got stay orders from various high courts against the specific clause in the policy that prevented them from being the beneficiaries of the concessional pricing scheme.

“The smaller players felt the policy is discriminatory. They did not want to kill their own well-established brands and sell their products through the big players. We found that their argument had some merit and the policy prima facie looked discriminatory.

At the same time, we had to ensure the quality of the fertilisers sold by the small players. So we devised a strategy to ensure the quality and on its basis, allowed all companies to market their own products,” said Atul Chaturvedi, secretary, Department of Fertilisers.

According to Chaturvedi, all SSP manufacturers are now required to self-certify the quality of their product. If the company’s claims are found to be false, they will be blacklisted forever from participating in the concessional pricing scheme for SSP fertilisers. “The policy amendment imposed a common condition that all products should bear a certificate that quality is pre-tested and certified. The efficacy should also be guaranteed by the respective state governments. The companies will own the legal responsibility for quality. The units which are found guilty of violating our orders will not be allowed to participate in concessional scheme...which means they shall close down. So there is a self-regulatory mechanism in place now,” Chaturvedi said.

Following the policy revision, all SSP manufacturers have withdrawn their petitions from respective high courts, he added.

The SSP Policy, announced by the government early this year, had declared substantial increase in the SSP subsidy. The manufacturers were eligible for a maximum subsidy of Rs 5,630 per tonne of SSP fertiliser in place of the earlier subsidy of Rs 1,125 per tonne. The policy had also brought in uniform prices for SSP fertilisers across the country.