Assam hikes land tax for tea plantations

Assam's tea industry, which is already hit by poor exports and a slight drop in domestic production, is set to face another blow.

Assam’s tea industry, which is already hit by poor exports and a slight drop in domestic production, is set to face another blow. The state Government has announced a hike in land tax for tea plantations.

A Cabinet decision taken on Wednesday evening hiked the land tax from the existing Rs 12 per bigha to Rs 22 for plantations in the Brahmaputra Valley. In the Barak Valley, the land tax has been increased from Rs 9 to Rs 16 per bigha.

Assam Government spokesman Himanta Biswa Sarma said the hike was long overdue and that the Government does not think it would have any adverse impact on the industry. “It is definitely a modest hike, and whatever rate the Government has fixed is still very low,” Sarma said. He also claimed the revision in land tax was done in consultation with the Consultative Committee of Plantation Associations (CCPA). “The CCPA had agreed to the Government’s suggestion to increase land tax,” the minister said.

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Reacting to the hike, secretary of the Assam Branch Indian Tea Association (ABITA) Dhiraj Kakati said, “If the government decision is true, then this revenue hike is going to be a huge burden on the tea industry.” The ABITA represents the plantation associations in the Brahmaputra Valley. Kakati said ABITA was not aware of any consultation that the Government has had with the CCPA. “It is not in my knowledge that the CCPA had agreed to any such proposal to raise the tax,” he said.

Assam has an area of about 2.68 lakh hectares under tea plantation, and though the production was near-satisfactory last year, both the output and export has come down slightly this season. “While exports have not picked up as was expected, prices too have come down in the current year,” Kakati said.