As concerns grow among the 1.3 million rubber cultivators in the country over the Union government’s move to repeal the Rubber Act of 1947, the Rubber Board has stepped in to clear the air.
In a statement recently, the Board clarified that the Act, which came into existence in 1947, had been amended periodically, with the last set of amendments in 2009 and the latest proposal aimed at bringing the Act in tune with the current realities in the sector. The first among these proposals seeks to replace the system of periodic licensing with one-time registration. The move is aimed at freeing dealers, processors and manufacturers from submitting periodic requests for licence extension.
Similarly, the scope of ‘research’ in the Act is proposed to be expanded to include synthetic and reclaimed rubber to assist the manufacturing sector in product development and research. Likewise, the scope of ‘training’ is proposed to be amended to include training of personnel across the value chain.
Amendment is also proposed to facilitate collection of data for statistical purposes from large growers and processors of natural rubber (NR) and manufacturing industry using NR, synthetic rubber and reclaimed rubber.
According to officials, the proposed amendments also intend to incorporate in the Act the changes made in 2016 to the Rubber Rules of 1955. For instance, rubber cess, which had been collected by the board, was subsumed in 2017 with the introduction of Goods and Services Tax. The provisions in the Rubber Act relating to cess and excise duty and to levy interest on delayed payments for the same have thus become redundant.
The board clarified that the apprehensions about dilution in its powers in particular with the import of NR were misplaced.
“The Board's recommendations had relevance only till 2001 when imports could be regulated using special licences and since 2001 the import of NR has been included on the Open General List (OGL). Imports are taking place at present because there is a huge gap between production and consumption of NR domestically,” said a top official.
Meanwhile, a reduction in the board’s staff strength is being proposed to be carried out without affecting the organisation’s extension activities and research and training. It also sought to dispel the concerns over the delay in processing of applications made under the Rubber Production Incentive Scheme (RPIS).
“Applications involving an incentive amount of ₹96.41 crore have been processed and forwarded to the Government of Kerala by regional offices of the Rubber Board and the remaining ones are under process,” the Board said.
