Coal-rich Indian state to pass mining tax after court ruling
The Indian state of Jharkhand has passed a bill imposing mining taxes, according to people familiar with the matter, a move that’s set to inflate the prices of minerals from coal to bauxite.
The state assembly has approved the Jharkhand Mineral Bearing Land Cess Bill and it now awaits the assent of the governor, the people said, asking not to be named as the deliberations aren’t yet public. A sum of 100 rupees ($1.19) a ton will be levied on coal and iron ore production once it’s passed, they said.
Jharkhand in India’s northeast is one of the country’s top coal-producing states and also has major reserves of iron ore, bauxite and manganese. The bill follows a Supreme Court ruling that gave Indian states the right to impose levies on mining, in addition to collecting existing royalties. Local governments will also be allowed to recover any overdue payments from April 2026.
Jharkhand government’s public relations department didn’t respond to calls or an email seeking comment.
“India’s mining industry is already saddled with very high taxation and any new taxes could burden the industry and risk investments,” said B.K. Bhatia, additional secretary general at Federation of Indian Mineral Industries. The court ruling has given “unbridled powers to states” and with such large expenses looming “companies will be looking to prioritise arrear payments instead of making new investments,” he said.
FIMI, an industry lobby group, estimated the historic arrears could be as high as 2 trillion rupees for miners in states including Odisha, Jharkhand and Karnataka. States are yet to release an official figure.
In addition to coal and iron ore, Jharkhand will impose taxes of 70 rupees a ton on bauxite, and 50 rupees on limestone and manganese, the people said. For other minerals, the miners will pay a sum equal to 50% of the royalty levied on them by the state government, they said.
Comments
Research Reports
Latest Multimedia
Showroom
Multotec, recognised industry leaders in metallurgy and process engineering help mining houses across the world process minerals more efficiently,...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
