NEW DELHI: The Aluminium Association of India (AAI) has sought the elimination of coal cess in the upcoming Union Budget and said the steep hike of the same has adversely affected the sustainability of the sector.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget for 2022-23 on February 1.
The AAI said it is a highly power-intensive industry where coal contributes to 40 per cent of aluminium production cost
The Association said the “Indian aluminium industry requests…support in the upcoming Union Budget 2022-23. High cess on coal (Rs 400 per MT)…be eliminated to support power-intensive industries and retain competitiveness of the domestic industry”.
The government created the National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF) with contributions from the clean energy cess imposed on coal mined in India or imported. The cess, which came into effect in 2010, was initially Rs 50 per tonne in 2010 and increased to Rs 400 in 2016.
