In an investor friendly move and a major relief for the industry, particularly power-intensive units, the Uttar Pradesh government has exempted all the new and pioneer industrial units from electricity duty (ED).
The energy department has notified ED exemption to all the new industrial units for a period of 10 years. However, the period for relief in ED for all pioneer units is 15 years.
State energy secretary and UP Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) CMD Navneet Sehgal said on Friday it was one of the most important step to attract new entrepreneurs and industries to UP.
He noted the new provision reflected the will of the government to promote industrial and economic development.
“We are striving to bring down AT&C (Aggregate Technical & Commercial) losses with encouraging results already, which will enable us to compensate for the lowering of resultant collections,” he added.
Although the provision for ED exemption was provided in the Industrial and Service Sector Investment Policy, it could not be implemented earlier as there was no notification or government order earlier to this effect.
According to the provision of UP Electricity (Duty) Act 1952 (UP Act No 33 of 1952), ED is charged at the rate of 9 paise/unit from metered connections, while 3 paise/unit is charged from industries consuming energy for industrial or other purposes, but produced from private generating resources.
