New Delhi, July 03: The country's largest coal miner,
Coal India Ltd, expects the government to exempt its mining
labourers from paying tax on housing allowance in the Union
Budget, a move which will save Rs 144 crore for the workers in
a year.
The company says that such a move will give an option to
its non-executive employees "working in difficult conditions"
to stay in houses of their choice rather than the
government-provided accommodation.
"We expect the government to exempt our employees from
paying tax on housing perquisites. On average, every year
our non-executive workers pay about Rs 144 crore to the
government on account of such tax. Exemption will motivate our
employees, working and living in difficult conditions," Coal
India Ltd Chairman P S Bhattacharyya told a news agency on the phone.
The company employs about 4.16 lakh people, of whom about
3 lakh non-executive workers stay in government accommodation,
he said, adding that the tax outflow on housing stands at
about Rs 400 per head per month, which could be done away
with. The workers are paid about Rs 15,000 a month.
"For a company which pays around Rs 6,000 crore as
corporation tax, it's not a (big thing to ask for). The
workers will not be forced to live in the provided
accommodation," he added.
When asked if the coal major has recommended the same to
its parent ministry, the Chairman declined to comment.
The Coal Ministry has already sought a reduction of
import duty on heavy mining equipment to 3 per cent from the
present 7-10 percent. This will help Coal India to meet its
higher production target for the fiscal.
CIL produced about 403 million tonnes of coal in the last
fiscal. The company has a capital expenditure plan of Rs 3,200
crore for this fiscal and aims to increase production
by 7.9 percent to 435 million tonnes.
Bureau Report
First Published: Friday, July 03, 2009, 13:26