The Minister of Cooperation, Amit Shah, in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, outlined various initiatives taken to strengthen and deepen the cooperative movement at the grassroots level. These measures include steps to ease doing business for stakeholders in the cooperative sector and initiatives for the revival of cooperative sugar mills.
Amit Shah provided details on the steps for the revival of cooperative sugar mills as follows:
Relief from Income Tax to Sugar Cooperative Mills: The Government has issued a clarification that cooperative sugar mills would not be subjected to additional income tax for paying higher sugarcane prices to farmers up to Fair and Remunerative or State Advised Price, from April, 2016 onwards.
Resolution of decades-old pending issues related to Income Tax of Sugar Cooperative Mills: The Government has made a provision in its Union Budget 2023-24, wherein Sugar cooperatives have been allowed to claim as expenditure their payments to sugarcane farmers for the period prior to the assessment year 2016–17, giving them a relief of more than Rs.10,000 crore.
Rs. 10,000 crore loan schemes launched for strengthening of Sugar Cooperative Mills: The Government has launched a scheme through NCDC for setting up ethanol plants or cogeneration plants or for working capital or all three purposes. A loan amount of Rs. 5746.76 cr. has been sanctioned by NCDC to 36 Cooperative Sugar Mills so far.
Preference to Cooperative Sugar Mills in the purchase of Ethanol: Cooperative Sugar Mills have now been put at par with private companies for ethanol procurement by the Government of India under the Ethanol Blending Programme (EBP).
Reduction in GST on molasses from 28% to 5%: The Government has decided to reduce the GST on molasses from 28% to 5% which will enable cooperative sugar mills to earn more profits for their members by selling molasses to distilleries with higher margins.
New National Multi-State Cooperative Export Society for promoting exports: The Government has established a new apex multi-state cooperative export society under the MSCS Act, 2002, namely National Cooperative Export Limited (NCEL) as an umbrella organization to give thrust to exports from cooperative sector. As on date, about 7700 PACS/ cooperative societies have become member of NCEL. A total of 8,15,007 metric tonnes of commodities have been exported by NCEL. Out of which 8,01,790 metric tonnes of rice, 7,685 metric tonnes of onions, 4507 metric tonnes of sugar, 1025 metric tonnes of wheat have been exported.
(Source: PIB)
