subject: Industrial Package For Hill States To Stay [print this page] MSMEs in the hill states of Himachal Pradesh (HP) and Uttarakhand, which were miffed with the government over non-announcement of extension of central industrial package, can now heave a sigh of relief.
The recent announcement by the Union commerce and industries minister, Anand Sharma, about the continuation of special concessions for HP and Uttarakhand units till March 2013 has provided a breather to MSMEs in these states. However, the sunset clause, which implies exemption in excise duty, has been withdrawn.
While speaking to reporters, Mr Sharma stated, The decision to extend the industrial package with concessions such as tax holiday, capital subsidy and transport subsidy, among others, has been taken keeping in mind the larger perspective of ensuring overall growth of the hill states.
Mr Sharma also rebutted the claims made by Punjab and Haryana on the issue of large-scale shifting of industries from their states to HP. He reiterated that the government is making efforts to promote trade and industry and is committed to achieve balanced growth of all states.
Extension of special industrial packages will help hill states to attract several small-scale entrepreneurs to establish their units, help in keeping a check on the migration of labourers to other cities and also boost industrial development of these regions, said Kumar Sambhav, executive secretary of the Kumaun Garhwal Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KGCCI).
However, industry units in Uttarakhand want the government to offer exemption in excise duty as it the most important part of the industrial package.
