GOVERNMENT OF ASSAM NOTES ON TOPICS SUBMITTED TO THE FOURTEENTH FINANCE COMMISSION FINANCE DEPARTMENT DISPUR NOVEMBER, 2013 Contents Topic No. Items Page No. I. BASE AND RATES OF STATE TAXES, DUTIES ETC 1 Land Revenue 1 – 6 2 Agricultural Income Tax 7 – 8 3 Tax on Urban Land 9 – 16 4 Stamps and Registration 17 – 35 5 VAT/Sales Tax/Purchase Tax 36 – 41 6 State Excise Duties 42 – 50 7 Taxes on motor vehicles, passengers and goods 51 – 66 8 Electricity Tax/Duties 67 – 69 9 Entertainment Tax 70 – 72 10 Other Taxes and Duties 73 – 78 11 Cesses/Surcharges 79 – 80 II. USER CHARGES 12 User Charges 81 – 84 III. LOANS DUE TO GOVERNMENT 13 Loans due to Government 85 – 101 IV. STATE BUDGETARY POSITION 14 State Budgetary position 102 – 104 15 State Budgetary position 105 – 106 V. NATURAL CALAMITES (Modified Topic Notes) 16 Natural Calamities 107 – 120 17 Natural Calamities 121 – 126 VI. STATE PLAN 18 State Plan 127 – 131 19 State Plan 132 – 142 20 State Plan 143 – 146 21 State Plan 147 – 148 22 State Plan 149 – 150 ECONOMY MEASURES AND ADMINISTRATIVE VII. REFORMS 23 Economy measures and Administrative Reforms 151 – 159 24 Economy measures and Administrative Reforms 160 – 162 25 Economy measures and Administrative Reforms 163 – 176 26 Economy measures and Administrative Reforms 177 – 178 27 Economy measures and Administrative Reforms 179 – 188 28 Economy measures and Administrative Reforms 189 – 190 29 Economy measures and Administrative Reforms 191 – 193 VIII. SUBSIDIES 30 Subsidies 194 – 202 IX. NORMS FOR MAINTENANCE OF CAPITAL ASSETS 31 Irrigation, Road and Buildings 203 – 211 X. MANAGEMENT OF SRTC 32 Management of SRTC 212 – 213 33 Management of SRTC 214 – 215 34 Management of SRTC 216 – 217 35 Management of SRTC 218 XI. POWER SECTOR 36 Power Sector 219 – 223 37 Power Sector 224 38 Power Sector 225 39 Power Sector 226 40 Power Sector 227 – 239 41 Power Sector 240 – 242 42 Power Sector 243 – 246 43 Power Sector 247 – 248 XII. PUBLIC SECTOR ENTERPRISES 44 Public Sector Enterprises 249 – 274 DEBT CONSOLIDATION AND RELIEF FACILITY XIII. (DCRF) 45 Debt Consolidation and Relief Facility (DCRF) 275 – 284 46 Contingent Liabilities 285 – 289 XIV. TAXATION EFFORTS 47 Taxation Efforts 290 – 296 XV. INTRA-STATE REGIONAL DISPARITIES 48 Intra-State Regional Disparities 297 – 318 XVI. PENSION REFORMS INITIATIVE 49 Pension Reforms Initiative 319 – 329 PUBLIC EXPENDITURE AND FINANCIAL XVII. MANAGEMENT (PEFM) 50 Public Expenditure and Financial Management 330 – 333 51 Public Expenditure and Financial Management 334 – 353 TOPICS ON WHICH NOTES ARE REQUIRED I BASE AND RATES OF STATE TAXES, DUTIES ETC. 1 Land Revenue (a) Base and existing rates of land revenue as assessed on different categories of rural land. Information about the rates applicable to irrigated, unirrigated and partially irrigated land should separately be given. (b) In some States in addition to irrigation, there is a tax on commercial crops. Where the tax on commercial crops in any from is levied, details of it should be given separately. (c) The size of holdings- unirrigated and irrigated (once/twice a year) separately – exempted from payment of land revenue and position in this regard from time to time together with estimated loss of revenue. (d) Any cess on land revenue whether land revenue or any part of it is assigned to Panchayats. 1. (a) Land in rural areas includes mainly agriculture land, which again include homestead and cultivable land. In rural areas, land is assessed on the basis of “Soil Unit System” as provided in the Assam Resettlement Manual. According to the system, soil factors are taken into consideration to calculate the unit rates. The land is classified on the basis of its use. The classification varies from district to district. But major classification found as per use is as follows: 1. Dry Land (a) Bari i. Bhal Bari (Residential Site – I) ii. Madhyam Bari (Residential Site – II) iii. Natun Bari (Residential Site – III) (b) Faringati (c) Beparar Thai (Trade Site I to III) 2. Wet Land i. Lahitoli (agriculture lands) ii. Salitoli (agriculture lands) iii. Bao (agricultural lands) iv. Ahutoli or Kharma (agricultural lands) v. Jalatak (agriculture lands) 1 The rates of land revenue varies from place to place depending upon the variation in economic condition, communication facilities, climate, natural conditions etc. First of all the unit rate for group of villages homogeneous in nature is calculated on the basis of factors fixed for each class of land and the volume of existing land revenue. The factor is fixed on the basis of fertility and productivity of the soil and as such, the factor is bound to vary from place to place. The factor assigned to different classes of land is shown below : Bari-130 to 150 Lahitoli- 130 Baotoli-120 Salitoli-135 Faringati-125 Ahutoli-120 Jalatak-40. A higher factor is assigned to well developed villages while a lower unit rate is assigned to the villages which are susceptible to flood, depredation of wild animals etc. The crop statistics market, nature of land and concomitant conditions along with market value of products are also taken into account. The unit rate is calculated in terms of paise. If the unit in rates is 150 paise then how the rate of land revenue per bigha is calculated for each class of land is shown as below: The average rate as prevailing in the State currently may be taken as 150 paise. Thus the bigha rate for each class of land comes to: Bari = 130X 150 to 150X150 = Rs.1.95 to Rs.2.25 Salitoli = 135X150 = Rs.2.03 Lahitoli = 130X150 = Rs.1.95 Faringati = 125X150 = Rs.1.88 Baotoli = 120X150 = Rs.1.80 Ahutoli = 120x150 = Rs.1.80 Jalatak = 40X150 = Rs. 0.60. 2 The rates as stated above or with slight variation were prevalent in different districts till 1997. The rate of revenue for Jalatak classes of land although comes to Rs.0.60, but for all practical purposes it was taken as Re.1/- which was the minimum rate of revenue. But in the year 1998 minimum rate of land revenue of Re.1/- has been fixed at Rs.5/- in the rural areas. There has been an enhancement of Rs.4.00 over the earlier minimum revenue of Re.1/-. The following methods have been adopted Existing Rate (in Rupees) Reassessed Rate (in Rupees) 1.00 5.00 1.50 5.50 2.00 6.00 3.00 7.00 4.00 8.00 Thus, over the existing rate i.e. before effecting the minimum rate of revenue as Rs.5.00, an amount of Rs.4.00 shall be added to each classes of land to calculate the current rate of revenue of rural land. At present this minimum rate of land revenue is realized from the land holder in all rural areas of Assam barring the following exception : 1. Assessment of land revenue of trade site land : The assessment of trade site land of rural areas has been made at the rate of maximum 10 times of the rate of homestead land. 2. Assessment of land used as brick kiln : State Government from time to time has fixed the rate of revenue of lands where brick kilns are set up. The present rate is Rs.2.50/- per cubic ft. of land plus maximum 10 times of the rate of highest class of land in the vicinity. 3. Assessment of Industrial Land : According to Rule 16 framed under Section 26 of the Assam Land Revenue Reassessment Act, 1936 as amended and as per Section 256-B (i) of the said Act, the industrial land of rural areas are assessed. The minimum rate is fixed at Rs.500/- per bigha. 3 ASSESSMENT OF TEA LAND Prior to 1997 the rate of land revenue on tea gardens varied from district to district and even from garden to garden. The rate of land revenue on tea garden land prevalent prior to 1997 was as below : (Per bigha=14,400 sq. feet) 1. Goalpara and Cachar Rs. 0.30 to Rs. 0.35 2. Hailakandi, Kokrajhar, Rs. 1.20 to Rs. 1.70 Jorhat, Sibsagar, Dhubri 3. Golaghat, Morigaon, Nogaon Rs. 2.15 to Rs. 2.75 Kamrup , Barpeta, Tinsukia and Dibrugarh 4. Lakhimpur, Karimganj, Rs. 3.10 to Rs. 4.00 Darrang, Dhemaji, Nalbari, Sonitpur But in 1997 State Government amended the Assam Land Revenue Reassessment Act, 1936 in order to enhance the rate of land revenue on tea land to a maximum of 30 times the above land revenue. Accordingly, State Government has fixed flat rate of land revenue on tea lands @ Rs. 15.00/- per bigha in Brahmaputra Valley and @ Rs. 10.00 per bigha in Barak Valley with ex-post facto effect from 01.04.1990. Later on vide letter No.RSS.351/91/339 dt.27.10.1999, the Government has reduced the rate to Rs. 12.00 for Brahmaputra Valley and Rs. 9.00 for Barak Valley respectively. There is no separate rate fixed for irrigated, un-irrigated and partially irrigated land in rural areas. 1.(b) The Government of Assam introduced an Act, viz, Assam Taxation (on specified land) Act, 1990 to levy a tax on the productivity of some special land bearing green tea leaves. This Act came into force with effect from 01- 01-1990. 4 The annual productivity of this land is measured by the green tea leaves it produces annually. The rate of tax was originally fixed at 18 paise per Kg. of green tea leaves produced. The tax is paid by the tea estates on the basis of their annual production of green tea leaves.