India’s Ministry of Steel will publish a ‘white paper’ within the next three to four months outlining roadmap of reducing tax burden on domestic steel producers and make it more competitive, a government official said on Friday, December 27.
He said that the National Institute for Transformation of India Commission (NITI Aayog), the government’s apex policy advisory body, has been tasked to prepare the white paper.
Once the Commission readies the paper, it will be submitted to the Ministry of Finance to make the recommended changes in taxes, cess and other local duties on steel production, the official added.
Last week, Anil Kumar Chowdhury, Chairman, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) complained of high taxes on Indian steel industry saying that production of steel in the country is the highest and one of the major factors for this is taxes with royalty close to 20 percent on input materials like coal and iron ore, which is more than in any other country. He added that in India the average of per ton of steel is about $450/mt, whereas in China where steel producers have the benefit of low taxes and incentives the cost of production is as low as $350/mt.