GUWAHATI, July 6 - The Indian Tea Association (ITA) today stated that the 2 per cent tax deduction at source (TDS) on cash withdrawals of over Rs 1 crore annually as proposed by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Union Budget placed by her before the Parliament on Friday, would compromise on the liquidity of the tea estates and result in an additional burden for the tea industry.
It has, therefore, urged the government to exempt the tea industry from this provision till such time the bank accounts of the tea garden workers are made operational.
In a statement issued by its secretary general Arijit Raha, the ITA said that due to the absence of adequate banking infrastructure in tea garden areas and lack of access to banks for tea garden workers, the tea garden managements are required to pay workers� wages in cash.
In this regard, several representations have been made to the government stating that bank accounts of tea garden workers are not being made operational due to infrastructural inadequacies. In this backdrop, a 2 per cent TDS on cash withdrawals of over Rs 1 crore in a year will compromise the liquidity of tea estates and cast an additional burden on the industry, it said.
It urged the government to also provide the tea estate people with more comprehensive coverage on schemes related to housing, education, sanitation, medical facilities, etc.
Moreover, it said that the in-kind benefits being provided by the tea estate managements to their workers and their families should be taken into consideration, while formulating the minimum wages proposed by the Union Finance Minister. The in-kind benefits, like housing, sanitation, fuel, education, medical facilities, water supply, etc., provided by the tea estate managements to their workers should be included as part of wage, said the ITA.
Reminding the government that the tea industry provides direct employment to over 1.2 million workers, it urged the government to adequately incentivize such labour-intensive industries to protect and develop the large employment base in keeping with the government�s thrust on employment growth.
