REVENUE FOREGONE DUE TO EXCISE DUTY EXEMPTION "

Excise duty exemption schemes have been extended by the Government for specified goods produced by specified units in the States of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and North East Region and Kutch district of Gujarat, subject to certain conditions.  All the above exemptions, except that for Kutch district of Gujarat, have been extended as per specific Industrial Policies announced by the Government.  In the case of Kutch district of Gujarat, however, the exemption was given following an earthquake in January, 2001 leading to loss of industrial assets.  The exemption is for a period of ten years from the date of commencement of commercial production by eligible units located in NER, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and for five years in case of Kutch.

Government has made an estimate of revenue foregone on account of the above exemption.  Estimated excise duty foregone during the last three financial years is as under: 

Year	Revenue foregone in Rs. crores*
2004-05	1502
2005-06	4150
2006-07	7000

*Provisional figures, excluding revenue foregone on account of exemption to four oil refineries located in the NER

This information was given by Shri S.S. Palanimanickam, Minister of State for Finance in reply to a question raised by Ch. Munawar Hassan in Lok Sabha today.

Excise duty exemption for regional units extended, creating fiscal revenue foregone and defined entitlement periods. Excise duty exemptions apply to specified goods produced by eligible units in Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, the North East Region and Kutch, subject to conditions; most follow Industrial Policies while Kutch's relief was disaster related. The relief is time limited-ten years from commercial production for NER, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, and five years for Kutch-and the Government published provisional estimates of excise duty revenue foregone for the recent financial years, excluding certain NER refinery exemptions.