Joda/Bhubaneswar: A few years after a massive mining scam in Keonjhar and other mineral-bearing areas in the state was unearthed, tax evasion by mineral exporters has come to the fore. The illegality has been going on with impunity.
The Customs department detected the illegality at the Paradip Port a few days ago.
Following the mining scam, many leaseholders had to deposit crores of rupees as penalty after the Supreme Court pronounced its order on the basis of the Central Empowered Committee report and investigation by the MB Shah Commission.
According to reliable sources, a cargo ship named as MV Magnus Fortune was loaded with 52,051 tonnes of iron ore at the port recently. The iron ore was being exported by BS Minerals, a mineral export company.
Officials of the Excise and Customs departments had carried out raids on various mineral export companies.
During the raids, officials came to know that the exporter had managed to evade tax on the minerals loaded on the ship.
The department immediately seized the minerals at the port and imposed a penalty of Rs 8, 7, 26, 314 and claimed a bank guarantee of Rs 1 crore from the exporter. The departments after getting a bond of Rs 5.40 crore had let go of the ship to its destination.
This incident may be a tip of the iceberg while it is alleged that many mineral exporters have been exporting minerals to the international market easily without paying taxes.
It was learnt that the mineral being exported in MV Magnus Fortune ship was in fact transported from Koida mining circle in Sundargarh and from Joda mining circle in Keonjhar.
As per the norms made by the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), iron ore having ferrous content less than 57 per cent are made free of custom tax while 30 per cent of the total value of the exported mineral has to be paid as custom tax in case the iron ore contains over 58 per cent ferrous content.
A number of questions now crop up after this exposure came to the fore. How such high-quality mineral was being exported under the garb of low-quality mineral in the ship. How such illegality could not be detected earlier despite having a proper system at work.
How high-quality minerals are being exported without the knowledge of the joint director of mines, deputy director of mines and mines inspectors. Now, the role of mining officials has come into question by various quarters.
When asked about the issue, joint director of Joda mining circle Salil Kumar Behera said he was unaware of it.
Sources said such illegalities in mineral transportation have been going on. A non-Odia trader based in Barbil is said to be involved in the shoddy activities in mineral transportation.
The trader has got trading license from the office of the joint director at Joda. Various quarters have demanded a high-level probe into the illegalities in mineral transportation.
PNN