THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Finance Minister Dr T.M. Thomas Isaac on Wednesday said that the exemption of rubber products, including latex, from the purview of E-way Bill within the state was under the consideration of the state government. The minister made this statement while intervening in a Calling Attention moved by CPM MLA Raju Abraham, in which he had made the demand, in the Assembly on Wednesday. The details of the exemption will be laid out in the Finance Bill that will be tabled in the Assembly during the ongoing budget session.
He insisted that a rubber society getting a GST registration could hurt farmers already rattled by the falling prices. E-Way Bill has to be mandatorily taken if goods worth more than Rs 50,000 are transported for more than 10 km. "This means rubber societies collecting latex and rubber sheets from farmers could also be asked to take registration. It was on the basis of the submissions made by the sector that the state government has decided to do away with the need for E-way Bill for rubber farmers for movement within the state," a source close to the finance minister said. All these societies have been in existence for the last 30 years and have been working on a no-profit no-loss basis.
Agriculture Minister V S Sunil Kumar, who was the first to respond to Mr Abraham's Calling Attention motion, said KSIDC would invite an international bid for setting up two rubber-based companies for processing and procurement of rubber.
