Supreme Court permits states to recover mineral royalty refunds from April 2005 onwards
THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK New Delhi, August 14: The Supreme Court dismissed the Centre’s request to apply its July 25 ruling…
THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
New Delhi, August 14: The Supreme Court dismissed the Centre’s request to apply its July 25 ruling prospectively on Wednesday. The ruling affirmed the authority of states to impose taxes on mineral rights and mineral-bearing land and permitted them to claim royalty refunds from April 1, 2005 onwards.
A nine-judge Constitution bench, chaired by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, ruled against the proposal to apply the July 25 decision prospectively only.
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The bench, which also included Justices Hrishikesh Roy, Abhay S Oka, BV Nagarathna, JB Pardiwala, Manoj Misra, Ujjal Bhuyan, Satish Chandra Sharma, and Augustine George Masih, noted that while the ruling stands, there will be specific conditions attached to the payment of past dues.
The bench stated that the Centre and mining companies can settle their dues to mineral-rich states in a phased manner over the next 12 years.
The bench also directed that states should not apply any penalties to the payment of dues.
Notably on July 25, in a landmark judgment, a nine-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court said in an 8:1 majority decision that states have legislative authority to impose taxes on mines and mineral-rich land, and the royalty paid on minerals is not a tax.
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On July 31, the central government opposed the petition in the Supreme Court where mineral-rich states requested a refund of royalties imposed by it on minerals and mineral-rich land since 1989.
