Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has decided to cancel the current levy of scenery and GST taxes on sand. He took this decision following views expressed by party MLAs at a meeting held with them, besides MLCs and MPs on Friday.
Rajamahendravaram Rural MLA Gorantla Butchaiah Chaudhary raised the issue of this. He pointed out that “we have said that we will give free sand to the people. But in the name of scenery and GST taxes, the prices of sand are being increased horizontally. People don’t understand why these taxes are free. It is better to remove them”. And some other MLAs supported him in this regard.
Immediately responding to their request, Chandrababu has taken an on the spot decision and announced that there will be no scenery on the sand. There will be no taxes, including GST, on sand taken for personal use, he added. “You can dig for your own needs and carry it on tractors and bulldozers for free. If the people who are far away want sand door delivery, they have to bear the cost of digging and transportation”, he added.
The Chief Minister made it clear that there will not be any charges if people take away sand on their own for their own use. Due to the removal of scenery and GST, the government will lose Rs.270 crores of revenue per year.
However, Chandrababu said “if the construction activities increase due to free availability of sand, there is a possibility of additional revenue for the government in another form. That is why we are removing these taxes”.
Responding to the appeal of the MLAs, he said that the soil used for filling the foundations of houses can be dug and taken away free of charge and there will be no taxes on it. It was also revealed that the idea of increasing the tax on soil, which is heavily used by nurseries in the Kadiyam area, is being abandoned, and it will be Rs 1,000 as in the past.
After the meeting, Minister of Mines Kollu Ravindra said that some agencies have been selected to dig and load sand in sand docks related to rivers, and they will discuss and decide what to do with them in the light of the latest decisions taken by the Chief Minister.
Agriculture Minister Atchennaidu told the reporters that there will be no penalties imposed on sand transport vehicles in the name of overloading.