The Goa government has sent out demand notices to 19 companies to pay up cess dues amounting to Rs208.73 crore for 2014-18 period.
The notices come at a time when the Goa government is facing a severe revenue crunch because mining work has stopped, there is a slowdown in tourism, and GST earnings are lower than expected, forcing the state to resort to unprecedented borrowings.
The government levies a cess of Rs50 per metric tonne on coal or coke transport via the state. Between 2014 and 2018, 42 million metric tonnes of coal and coke was transported through Goa with JSW Steel ferrying the most, at 31 million metric tonnes during the period.
