Area based exemption – Himachal CM announces extension!
THE area based exemption from excise duty for Himachal Pradesh (and a couple of other states) is supposed to end on 31.03.2010. The Himachal CM, Prem Kumar Dhumal, has stated in Delhi that the Commerce minister has cleared the extension till 2013.
Remember Kamal Nath used to announce several Service Tax exemptions and Chidambaram used to laugh at/away them!
The chief minister clarified that “there was no flight of industries from any of the neighbouring states like Haryana and Punjab, which were opposing Himachal Pradesh's demand for the last three years. In fact, several leading industrial houses from Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh are in the process of setting up new units in Himachal Pradesh to derive benefits from the tax holiday here. The package has had a positive impact on the industrial growth of the state and withdrawal of these benefits will jeopardize economic development.”