Budget 2023-24: Finance Minister Announces Relief For Sugar Co-operatives From Past Demand

Sugar factories operating in the co-operative sectors in certain States of India pay to sugarcane growers a final amount, often referred to as Final Cane Price (FCP) which is over and above the Statutory Minimum Price (SMP) fixed by the Central Government under the Sugarcane Control Order, 1996. FCP is decided on the basis of the particular factory’s working results which take into account all the revenues and expenditures incurred by the factory.

The payment of FCP by the co-operative sugar factories over and above the SMP for purchase of sugarcane had resulted into tax litigation.

The co-operative sugar factories were claiming the excess payment as business expenditure whereas it has been disallowed in the assessment on the ground that the excess price paid for purchase of sugar cane over and above SMP is in the nature of appropriation/distribution of profit and hence not allowable as deduction.

In order to provide certainty in this matter and to encourage co-operative movement in sugar sector, a new clause (xvii) was inserted to amend sub-section (1) of section 36 to provide that the amount paid for purchase of sugarcane by the co-operative societies engaged in the manufacture of sugar at a price which is equal to or less than the price fixed by or fixed with the approval of the Government shall be allowed as deduction for computing business income of the sugar co-operative factories.

The amendment came into force through the Finance Act 2015 on 01.04.2016 and was applicable from Assessment Year 2016-17 onwards. Pending demands and litigation still persisted in respect of AYs prior to 2016-17.

Therefore, to conclude the matter logically and to extend the benefit of the relief to all the applicable years, the finance minister proposed to amend section 155 to insert a new sub-section (19).

Section 155(19) states that in the case of a sugar mill co-operative, where any deduction in respect of any expenditure incurred for the purchase of sugarcane has been claimed by an assessee and deduction has been disallowed wholly or partly the Assessing Officer shall, on the basis of an application made by assessee recompute the total income of such assessee for previous year. The Assessing Officer shall allow such deduction to the extent expenditure is incurred at a price which is equal to or less than the price fixed or approved by the Government for that previous year.

Also, the provision of section 154 shall, so far as may be, apply thereto, and the period of four years specified in sub-section (7) of section 154 shall be reckoned from the end of previous year commencing on the 1st April, 2022.

The amendment will take effect from the 1st April, 2023.