SHILLONG: The CAG report has revealed anomalies in the subsidy claims by industrial units.
According to the report, the District Commerce & Industries Centre (DC&IC) allowed 16 industrial units to submit subsidy claims of Rs 5.41 crore during the period from December 18, 2013, to May 8, 2017, under the Meghalaya Industrial & Investment Promotion Scheme (MIIPS) 2016 even before the scheme was notified on May 23, 2017.
The state government notified the MIIPS 2016 on May 23, 2017, in pursuance of MIIPS 2012. The scheme was introduced with a view to accelerating the industrial development and other investments in the state.
Under the MIIPS, new industrial units as well as units undergoing substantial expansion were eligible for a host of subsidies such as capital investment subsidy, interest subsidy, subsidy on cost of DG sets, pollution control measures, quality control measures, etc. The scheme came into effect retrospectively from December 21, 2012, and would remain in force up to December 20, 2022.
Clause 9 of MIIPS prescribes the procedure for availing of subsidy under the scheme. As per the procedure, the industrial units have to submit their applications in the prescribed format to the concerned DC&IC after commencement of commercial production/operation for obtaining the ‘Eligibility Certificate’. The application for claiming subsidy for ‘Eligibility Certificate’ is to be scrutinised by the concerned DC&IC and forwarded with recommendations to the Directorate of Commerce & Industries (DC&I).
The industrial units have to submit the applications for benefits under the Scheme along with copy of the eligibility certificate and other requisite documents within one year from the date of commencement of commercial production/operation for subsidy claim under State Capital Investment /Quality Control Measures/Reirnbursement of Stamps Duty & Registration Fees/Refund of CST Pollution Control Measures/DG Sets etc. The applications for the Interest Subsidy and Power Tariff Subsidy are to be submitted within one year from the date of incurring expenditure. Claims submitted after the above timeline become time-barred.
“Scrutiny of records of DC&I (May – July 2018), revealed that four DC&ICs (Ri Bhoi, East Khasi Hills, Jaintia Hills and North Garo Hills) allowed 16 industrial units to submit subsidy claims of Rs 5.41 crore,” the report said.
