The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Tobacco: State `no' to market cess beyond 2 per cent

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 28, 2006

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Tobacco: State `no' to market cess beyond 2 per cent

Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD: As a tussle has broken out between the Tobacco Board and the Marketing Department over sharing of cess collected at market yards on tobacco transactions, the State Government has advised the two agencies to thrash out the issue with legal experts and not to collect cess in excess of 2 per cent of the transaction value.

Agriculture Minister N. Raghuveera Reddy made this clear to Tobacco Board Chairman Suresh Babu and marketing officials at a meeting here on Monday to review the purchase of tobacco in Prakasam and Guntur districts. Collectors, MPs, MLAs and tobacco traders from both districts and representatives of the Indian Trading Corporation attended the meeting in the Assembly.

Mr. Reddy told reporters later that the Supreme Court in its recent judgement modified the cess collection system at the market yards. Since then, the Tobacco Board was collecting 1 per cent each from farmers and tobacco traders.

Giving a different interpretation to the judgement, the marketing department has claimed half of the collection from the board, which the latter rejected. The board insisted that it had a right over the entire collection. In view of the controversy, Mr. Reddy clarified to the board and marketing d epartment that they sort out the issue.

The Minister advised traders to arrest the decline in the purchase price of tobacco.

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