Amidst Corona crisis and the ongoing lockdown, the Rajasthan government's move to impose 2 per cent farmers’ welfare tax on the pulse seeds in addition to the existing mandi tax of 1.50 per cent has come in for wide flak from trade bodies and pulse traders across Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Even as Indore Anaj Mandis Vyapari Sangh joint secretary Ashish Mundra on Wednesday denied that the imposition of 2 per cent farmers’ welfare cess in Rajasthan would have any bearing on the prices of pulses in Madhya Pradesh, a section of other pulse traders felt that it would impact pulses prices in Madhya Pradesh as well, given procurement of large quantity of pulse seeds from Rajasthan by the millers in Indore and elsewhere in Madhya Pradesh.

Meanwhile, the All India Pulse Mills Association headquartered in Indore has condemned the Rajasthan government’s decision on imposition of new tax on pulse seeds. In a statement issued here, the association demanded the rollback of the 2 per cent tax as it would lead to steep rise in prices of pulse seeds and pulses.

Association president Suresh Agrawal said that because of the new tax, mills in Rajasthan would not be able to purchase pulse seeds from other States and they would constrained to shift their units to and Gujarat.

The All India Pulse Mills Association has also urged the government to bring about uniformity in the mandi tax across the country.

Related Topics