Farmers’ Commission Bill
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, on behalf of Agriculture Minister Banteidor Lyngdoh, introduced the Meghalaya Farmers’ (Empowerment) Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2020. In the earlier Act, after the existing sub-section (1) of Section 4, the proviso shall be added – “Provided that no person shall hold office as Chairperson after he or she has attained the age of sixty-five years”. It may be mentioned that the Act has envisaged the constitution of the commission and functions of Farmers’ (Empowerment) Commission, procedure and powers, finance, accounts and audit.
Arrears Bill
Minister in charge of Excise, Registration, Taxation & Stamps, James Sangma, has introduced the Meghalaya Settlement of Arrears (Under the State Taxation Acts) Bill, 2020. The Bill seeks to secure the interest of revenue collection by the government and reduce the arrears out of the enactments administered by the Commercial Taxes department. This Bill provides tax applicants with an opportunity of remission on dues on account of tax, interest, surcharge and penalty, on condition of payment of 70 per cent of total outstanding dues within a stipulated time period and for other connected matters. The legislation has been introduced to help applicants recover dues on account of unrecovered tax, surcharge, interest, and penalty accumulated over a number of years. The Bill, which will notify a scheme to waive off a certain percentage of the arrears, was necessitated if a defaulter of tax wants to avail the benefit of the scheme and pays the remainder of the amount in full.
