SC reserves verdict on whether royalty on minerals is tax
Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its verdict on the hugely contentious issue of whether the royalty payable on minerals is a tax under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, and if only the Centre is vested with the power to levy such exaction or states also have the authority to impose levies on mineral bearing land in their territory. A nine-judge bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud heard the matter on eight days, while dealing with a batch of 86 appeals filed by different state governments, mining companies and public sector undertakings.
The bench, also comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy, Abhay S Oka, BV Nagarathna, JB Pardiwala, Manoj Misra, Ujjal Bhuyan, Satish Chandra Sharma and Augustine George Masih, heard the arguments of various parties including the Centre.
During the hearing, the top court had said the Constitution vests the power to impose tax on mineral rights not in Parliament alone but also the states and underlined that such authority should not be diluted.
Attorney General R Venkataramani, appearing for the Centre, had contended the Union had overriding powers with regard to tax mines and minerals.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, also representing the Centre, said the entire architecture of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act (MMDRA) is the limitation on the states' legislative power to impose tax on minerals and, under the law, the central government has the power to fix royalty.
«The MMDRA wholly occupies the field and provides for a
