Royalty is not tax: SC allows states to levy minerals cess

Cites fiscal federalism to highlight power of states to tax

- BHAVINI MISHRA, NITIN KUMAR & AMRITHA PILLAY

States have the power to levy cess on mining and mineral-use activities, a nine-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday. It also upheld that the royalty paid by mining operators to the Central government is not a tax.

The court in the 8:1 judgment also stated that states' power to tax is not limited by Parliament's Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act of 1957.

This verdict can help boost revenues of mineral-bearing states, mostly in eastern India. Industry, on the other hand, is seeking more clarity on the effective date of cess calculation, and if there will be any double taxation by states and the Centre.

The judgment that resolved an over threedecade old issue was delivered by the Bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud, Justices Hrishikesh Roy, Abhay S Oka, BV Nagarathna, JB Pardiwala, Manoj Misra, Ujjal Bhuyan, Satish Chandra Sharma, and Augustine George Masih. Justice Nagarathna, in her dissenting verdict, said royalty is in the nature of a tax or an exaction.