VIJAYAWADA: Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu has opposed the proposal to exclude the jurisdiction of territorial waters abutting the coastal States in the draft IGST Law.
At a meeting organised by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on GST in New Delhi on Tuesday, Yanamala said Andhra Pradesh has been collecting VAT on the transactions taking place in the territorial waters extending up to 12 nautical miles from the coast since a long time. About Rs 600 crore per annum is being realised on the sale of bunker fuels to foreign-going vessels and on gas explored in the territorial waters.
If the jurisdiction of territorial waters is taken away from the States, it will result in loss of huge revenue to all the coastal States, including Andhra Pradesh, the Finance Minister said, rejecting the proposal vehemently.
It is learnt that ministers of other coastal States like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat and West Bengal also expressed the similar opinion on the proposal to exclude the jurisdiction of territorial waters.