NEW DELHI: Customs duty collection from the Calcutta zone has dipped in 2014-15 because of the operational challenges faced by three industrial units located in Haldia along with the declining import of equipment and machinery needed to expand existing units.
Officials of the customs, central excise and service tax commissionerate in Calcutta today said total customs duty collected from the zone comprising Bengal, Sikkim and Andaman and Nicobar Islands stood at Rs 9,779 crore in 2014-15 against Rs 9,924 crore in 2013-14.
“Customs duty collection has been lower on account of lower duty paid by factories such as Haldia Petrochemicals, Mitsubishi Chemicals and Shree Renuka Sugar,” said Gautam Ray, chief commissioner, customs, central excise and service tax, at an MCC Chamber of Commerce and Industry event here today.
Ray said declining imports, reflecting the lack of industrial expansion in the state, also impacted duty collection. The decline in customs duty mop-up was in contrast to the growth of central excise and service taxes.
HPL had closed down its petrochemical plant on July 6 to fix a glitch in its naphtha cracker unit. The plant, which could not be restarted in the absence of funds, remained closed for a major part of the fiscal. The company did not import naphtha and therefore paid no duty to the exchequer.
Mitsubishi Chemicals was paying customs duty on the import of paraxylene, the main raw material needed to produce terephthalic acid at its Haldia plant. However, mounting losses led to an erosion in the company’s net worth and it was referred to the Board For Industrial and Financial Reconstruction.
Shree Renuka was paying a levy on raw sugar imports, which were converted into white sugar at its Haldia unit. However, the company’s operation was affected for over a year by factors such as bumper sugarcane crop, depressed prices, protectionism, local tax rules and poor draft at Haldia port.
