PANAJI | March 11, 2016: Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar has assured the mining industry that his government will rationalise the local tax structure in line with market requirement.

Mr Parsekar gave the assurance at a “mining policy round table” organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (GCCI) in association with the government of Goa early this week in the city.

The Chief Minister, who holds the Finance portfolio, will present the State budget in the Assembly during the budget session convened mid-March.

The mining industry that got a boost from the Union budget, which scrapped export duty on low grade ore, has been after the State government to reduce State taxes to make the sector viable.

In the context of the nearly three years of mining halt in the State, the Chief Minister urged the industry to immediately resume activities and tackle the issue of local transportation with truck owners on humanitarian grounds. The truck owners have raised issues related to prices offered for transportation, among others.

President Narayan Bandekar, members on the mining committee of the GCCI and A.K. Banerjee, Director, attended the programme.

Key objectives:

GCCI officials told The Hindu that the objectives of the programme was to have interactions focussed on the mining industry in Goa, new amendments to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 2015, and the Mineral Concession Rules and their impact, thrust on exploration, technology adoption, and regulatory framework for attracting fresh investments to the State.

It also discussed the challenges facing the mining industry.

Balvinder Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Mines, Government of India, spoke on the steps the government had taken to resolve the issues related to his Ministry.

(Source: http://www.thehindu.com/)