BHUBANESWAR: In a significant move to decentralise the decision-making process in the food processing sector, the state cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday approved the MSME department’s proposal for enhancing the administrative authority for according approval of fiscal incentive claims under the Odisha Food Processing Policy 2016.
Under the amended provision, the state-level committee (SLC) with MSME secretary as chairperson has been authorised to approve fiscal incentive claims of the promoter on an investment in plant machinery of more than Rs 10 to Rs 50 crore. Prior to these policy changes, the secretary had the limitation to consider and accord approval of incentives for more than Rs 25 lakh up to Rs 1 crore.
Briefing mediapersons on the cabinet decisions, chief secretary Manoj Ahuja said five proposals of four departments were approved. The MSME department proposed to bring some amendments in the Odisha Food Processing Policy 2016 to simplify the process of administration/approval of fiscal incentive in line with corresponding provisions of the new version of the food processing policy made effective from September 30, 2022.
He said previously, there were three committees. The state directorate-level committee (SDLC) under chairmanship of director of Industries had the power to accord approval of incentives up to Rs 25 lakh while the sub-committee of the state-level empowered committee (SLEC) under chairmanship of MSME secretary had the capacity to approve incentives of more than Rs 25 lakh up to Rs 1 crore. The SLEC headed by chief secretary was approving incentives for more than Rs 1 crore.
With this amendment, now there will be three committees - the district level committee (DLC) headed by district collector which can approve incentives on investment in plant and machinery up to Rs 1 crore, SDLC for investment of more than Rs 1 crore up to Rs 10 crore and SLC for investment of more than Rs 10 crore up to Rs 50 crore.
“This simplification of procedures for administration of financial incentive to MSMEs under the Industrial Promotion Policy will lead to increase in pace of promotion of investment in food processing sector in the state and generate more employment opportunities,” Ahuja said.
The proposal of the Water Resources department for extension of the Mukhyamantri Adibandha Tiyari Yojana 3.0 for another five years from 2025-26 to 2029-30 for construction of 3,313 new check dams and improvement of 3,529 existing ones to create additional irrigation potential for 57,525 hectare and restore 41,713 hectare of existing capacity was also approved. A provision of Rs 2,738 crore has been made for this programme.
Ahuja said the cabinet also gave the go ahead to the Finance department’s proposal to amend the Odisha Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 for simplifying the provisions to benefit tax payers and tax authorities. The amendment is required to remove ambiguities existing between interpretation of “plant and machinery” and “plant or machinery” for availing input tax credit, providing more flexibility to the taxpayers in filing of returns, introduction of track and trace mechanism to address issues of revenue-leakage in the evasion-prone sectors like paan masala, brick kilns, and sand mining.
He said a penal provisions of Rs 1 lakh or 10 per cent of tax payable for contraventions of the provision relating to track and trace mechanism will be incorporated.