Members of the Andhra Pradesh Sugar Mills Association have appealed to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to exempt them from exit tax and allow them to tap market for molasses in other parts of India.

As per the existing guidelines, the sugar factory requires to pay Rs. 2,500 per ton of molasses as exit tax to sell it in any other State.

A delegation led by several owners of sugar mills submitted a memorandum to Mr. Naidu, explaining how their counterparts in Maharashtra and Karnataka were reaping profits on sale of molasses due to exemption from payment of the tax.

Demand

“The demand for molasses in Andhra Pradesh is very low. There is great demand for it in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and a few other States. Exemption from payment of exit tax will pave the way to earn more revenue during the cane crushing season,” said K.C.P. Sugar and Industries Corporation Chief Operating Officer G. Venkateswara Rao.

Mr. Rao said that cane farmers would also directly benefit from the exemption as it would allow the factories to generate more income on the sale of molasses, enabling them to clear the fair and remunerative price to the farmers without any delay.

Of the 29 sugar factories in Andhra Pradesh, nine had been closed.

A sugar factory at Anakapalle in Visakhapatnam district, run in the cooperative mode, and another one at Tanuku also downed their shutters this year reportedly owing to financial constraints.

Cooperative units

Half of the factories in the State now are being run by the cane farmers’ cooperative societies.

The State government is yet to announce its decision on the exit tax.