New Delhi, June 3: The Congress-led government is drawing up a duty package for iron ore and steel, which could involve raising the duty on iron ore export, removing the duty on finished steel export and retaining that on semi-finished steel.

Steel minister Ram Vilas Paswan told The Telegraph that “officials are working out a package”.

Sources said the package involved levying an ad valorem duty on iron ore export which could be either 8 per cent or 15 per cent, as ore prices continued to rise, and removing the punitive duty imposed on finished steel two months back.

The duty on semi-finished steel which was also levied around the same time will remain, officials said. They said the move to roll back the duty on finished steel was a result of stability in steel prices.

However, if steel makers adopted a threatening stance and tried to increase prices without justification, the duty could be brought back.

In iron ore, a proposal to slap a 15 per cent tax on the value of export (ad valorem duty) made in April had been rejected after several rounds of meetings of a group of ministers. The commerce ministry had opposed the move, arguing it would kill exports whereas the mining industry had made long-term commitments to buyers from abroad.

Officials say they expect the commerce ministry to continue objecting to any increase in the export tax as the ministry wants to push up export realisations.

At present, the fixed duty on ore export stands at a low Rs 50 a tonne for low-grade iron ore and Rs 300 a tonne for high-grade ore. Steel makers, who have been consistently lobbying in favour of hiking the tax, say with rising iron ore prices, a tax will help keep some of the ore back.