Team Herald
PANJIM: In major relief to the fishing community, the State government has decided to reimburse the Value Added Tax (VAT) paid on high-speed diesel (HSD) used in fishing vessels, as the industry is currently suffering losses on operational costs.
The government on Thursday modified the ‘Goa Value Added Tax based subsidy on HSD Oil consumed by Fishing Vessels Scheme, 2015’. “An amount equivalent to the actual Value Added Tax paid shall be reimbursed to the owner of fishing vessel eligible under this scheme as subsidy, on HSD consumed by fishing vessel used for the purpose of fishing on limited quota as decided by the government,” the notification states.
Additionally, the total quota of HSD for the purpose of this scheme would be restricted to 20,000 KL per financial year for the entire fishing industry.
Fisheries Director Shamila Monteiro said that owners of fishing vessels have been demanding exemption of VAT, just as sales tax was exempted for them before the introduction of VAT. “However, under VAT such exemption cannot be given as there is no provision in the Goa Value Added Tax Act, 2005,” she said.
“Therefore, it has been proposed to grant subsidy on VAT on the HSD consumed by the fishing vessels in Goa. It is also proposed to restrict the subsidy on consumption of HSD by individual fishing vessel so that the owner of the fishing vessel can claim the limited subsidy on the fishing vessels,” Monteiro added.
The director said it is been observed that the operational costs of fishing vessels has been increasing alarmingly due to the rising cost of HSD. The cost of fuel constitutes 60 percent of a fishing vessel’s operational cost.
“With the reported depletion in fish catch, fishing trips prove to be uneconomical. Returns in fishing have become very uncertain as fishermen may have to wander in the sea for a whole day without any fish catch. The plight of fishermen is therefore, very miserable,” she added.
