Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Fishermen welfare cess Bill passed

Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Assembly unanimously passed the Kerala Fishermen's and Allied Workers' Welfare Cess Bill on Thursday.

The Bill provides for collection of one per cent cess on the sales turnover of fish, fish products and allied equipment for credit to the Kerala Fishermen's Welfare Fund. Traders will be required to pay the cess on raw or processed fish traded in the State or brought to or taken out of the State.

Fisheries Minister S. Sarma, who piloted the Bill, said an earlier effort by the Government to collect cess from exporters of marine products had failed on account of a Supreme Court verdict in favour of the exporters in 2002. The previous Government had brought an ordinance in February 2006 rectifying some of the defects in the original legislation. The Bill sought to replace the ordinance with major changes intended to defeat any legal challenge to the legislation.

Mr. Sarma said small traders had been excluded from the cess. As the State could not tax marine exports as such, the cess was proposed to be imposed only on trade within and outside of the State. As it was a tax, it would be initially credited to the consolidated fund of the State and then transferred to the welfare fund.

The Minister accepted several minor changes proposed by Opposition members to the Bill reported by the Subject Committee but rejected their demand to increase the penalties for non-payment of the cess. Failure to file returns on turnover and payment of cess will invite six months' imprisonment or a fine of Rs.1,000 or both.

Opposition members demanded that stringent and effective steps be taken to collect the cess. T.N. Prathapan (Congress) maintained that realisation of the cess would be difficult under the provisions in the Bill.

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