Budget 2023 | By waiving off tax on FRP, Modi govt. has given massive boost for Maharashtra’s sugarcane industry, says Fadnavis

“Sugarcane farmers will greatly benefit by this move and get better rates henceforward…”``

Stating that the Budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman would give a massive boost for Maharashtra’s sugarcane industry, Deputy Chief Minister and State Finance Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday lauded the Modi government’s decision to waive off the income tax on the fair and remunerative price (FRP) for sugarcane payment prior to 2016.

Mr. Fadnavis told reporters in Mumbai that that the BJP government at the Centre under Prime Minister Narendra Modi had succeeded in giving sugarcane sector in the country, and particularly in Maharashtra, its biggest advantage in years by waiving off the tax on FRP.

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“Sugarcane farmers will greatly benefit by this move and get better rates henceforward…

“Earlier, the Modi government had waived off tax on FRP after 2016. Now, with the exemption of tax before 2016, sugarcane factories in Maharashtra will be saved from having to pay tax on FRP [before 2016] which collectively adds up to ₹10,000 crore,” Mr. Fadnavis said.

In a veiled jibe at previous governments in Maharashtra (Congress-Nationalist Congress Party and the Maha Vikas Aghadi under Uddhav Thackeray), Mr. Fadnavis said that for the last 20 years, State governments had been trying to get the Centre to waive off the tax on FRP without success.

The move is expected to help the ruling BJP in the State consolidate its position in the ‘sugar heartland’ of western Maharashtra, traditionally the bastion of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP and the Congress.