According to a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court, royalty is not a tax, and it is a contractual and financial consideration paid by a lessee to a lessor for the privilege of removing minerals, not a compulsory exaction or tax. This bill, however, states that “no tax, cess or such other levy (by whatever name called) shall be imposed by the state government on mineral rights”
The current bill effectively seeks to overturn the Constitution Bench’s judgment and denies the state government one of its revenue streams, which was duly declared valid by the Supreme Court. — Internet
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