Guwahati, July 7: The Tea Association of India(TAI) in its pre-Budget Memorandum submitted to the Finance Minister of Assam, has appealed for consideration and sanctioning all genuine claims submitted by the respective Tea Estates along with the supportive documents during each financial year for relief under Assam Tea Industry Special Incentive Scheme (ATISIS) 2020.
The plantation association further requested for sufficient funds to be allocated to clear all pending dues from previous years to carry forward the benefits accrued to the Industry in the intervening years since its inception.
“To make sufficient budgetary allocation during 2026-27 based on the claims submitted by the Tea Estates during the previous financial year with an year to year increase. This has been suggested due to increase in Orthodox production in the State post implementation of the scheme,” the TAI memorandum said.
The TAI pointed out that the ATISIS, 2020, has provided a much needed financial succour to the ailing industry during recent times.
“The scheme has immensely benefited the Assam tea industry by way of cost mitigation and sustaining Orthodox production. This has also led to an increase in Assam Orthodox production in 2025 by around 36% over 2024. Additionally export has also seen a significant rise of 29.36 Mkgs during the year 2025 over 2024, wherein Assam orthodox is a major contributor,” the TAI stated.
India has exported 285.53 Mkgs of tea during the year 2025 as per the data released by Tea Board of India. This is the highest export quantity ever registered by the country. Assam Orthodox teas have comprised the bulk of the Indian tea export basket. This significant milestone would not have been possible without the support received from your end.
The TAI flagged that all pending applications pertaining from 2020-2021 to 2025-26 have been “rejected” by the Finance Department, Govt of Assam in the portal recently.
A large number of tea estates have not received subsidy amounts due for past financial years under ATISIS although all requisite documentation have been duly submitted within the requisite time frame and approved by all the other Departments.
“Since boosting Orthodox production was a critical objective of the ATISIS 2020 scheme to increase export, it is apprehended that the already achieved spurt in Orthodox production in Assam may be hampered if due subsidy is not received by the units.
“Moreover, for most of the Orthodox producing Gardens, the transacted export price to the importer took it to account the subsidy being provided by the Govt of Assam and the price was agreed upon considering the Orthodox subsidy receivable from the Govt of Assam under the scheme,” TAI stated.
In the memorandum, The TAI has requested for extension of abeyance of levy of Agricultural Income Tax on Tea Cultivation as these measures have provided much-needed relief to the crisis-ridden tea industry. So, the TAI appealed for the Agricultural Income Tax waiver for tea gardens to be extended for the financial year 2026-27.
The TAI further requested for extension of exemption of levy and payment of tax on green tea leaves for further three years beyond Dec 31, 2026.
It may be mentioned that as the tea industry of Assam as the source of livelihood for a huge population and in consideration of the problems plaguing the Tea Industry the Govt. of Assam had kept in abeyance the levy and payment of tax on green tea leaf for the period of 2 (two) years – January 1, 2025 to Dec 31, 2026.
Tea prices have not kept pace with the rate of growth of prices of inputs over the years, while this has happened; the costs of production for estates have grown rapidly. The CAGR growth rate in prices fetched in GTAC from the year 2016 to 2025 has been a mere 4.46%, whereas key ingredients in the cost of production (Coal, MOP, gas, sulphar etc) including Labour wages have registered an average CAGR growth of 9.77%. One of the important inputs is Electricity. The electricity tariff in Assam has increased at 8.85 % CAGR over the last 10 years.
Hence, the TAI has requested the Govt of Assam to provide reimbursement of power subsidy @ Rs. 2.00/- per unit consumed for a period of 5 years by the tea manufacturing units (new as well as old units) of Assam.
The TAI has requested that sufficient and dedicated budgetary allocation be made for Tea Tourism Projects in Assam to support infrastructure development, connectivity, capacity building, and focused domestic and international promotion.
The TAI has also requested for granting reimbursement of 100% SGST paid on the finished product through debit in electronic cash ledger account.
The tea planters’ body further asked for assistance for environmental compliance in the form of a subsidy @ 50% on capital cost for setting up effluent treatment plants in the manufacturing units.
The TAI pleaded for government’s support is for the organized Tea industry that was earlier provided under different scheme periods, which however stands withdrawn, in the following areas – plantation development ; factory development ; quality upgradation and product diversification; value addition by way of creating additional infrastructure for cleaning, blending, colour sorting, packaging etc., revival and development of factories of dilapidated tea plantations, technological intervention for tea plantation including drone surveillance, precision farming, traceability and block chain technology and rapid testing kits.
In view of the depleting revenue generation in the lean period (mid-December to mid-February) when the industry is hard-pressed to sustain itself, the TAI has submitted that VB-G-RAM-G schemes be implemented during the period.
The TAI flagged that following schemes under the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare that could be part of Tea Industry – PMKSY, PMFBY, Soil Health Card Scheme ,RKVY, Digital platform for farm machineries and technology, the National Agriculture Infrastructure Financing Facility, Sub Mission on Agriculture Mechanization(SMAM), National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), National Mission for Agriculture Extension and Technology (NMAET & ATMA), Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) and PM KUSUM
