Ban on mineral exports sought

BL reports

In a communication to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Finance and Planning Commission, the Chamber has asked for an immediate ban on mineral exports to help domestic industry make finished products at competitive rates and for saving mineral wealth of the country.

As per the existing mineral policy, Government gets royalties between Rs 10 and Rs 27 per tonne of iron ore extracted depending upon grades. During 2005-06, the contribution from mining companies to the national exchequer was around Rs 300 crore whereas the Government earned around Rs 15,000 crore from the steel sector for the same period.

This included excise duty, sales tax/VAT and the applicable royalty on iron ore. The differential speaks of the fact that few mining companies held by the private sector are accumulating personal wealth by means of profiteering without any benefit to the Government and to the people, the chamber argues.