Malda, April 9: The Centre’s recent decision, branding all the agricultural markets in the country business establishments and bringing them under the purview of income tax, has not gone down well with the food processing department.

“The amendments in the laws governing agricultural markets do not bode well for us. Regulated market committees will now have to pay huge amounts as income-tax, stunting development of infrastructure,” state food processing minister Sailen Sarkar said today at a convention organised by the All-Bengal Regulated Market Employees’ Association.

The tax has been pegged at eight per cent of the earnings of each market.

“The income-tax department has sent letters to all 44 regulated markets in the state and officers are paying visits to let them know they are serious,” Sarkar said.

The future of the markets also hangs in the balance with the committees hunting for ways to pay the “steep” tax amount and deal with the resultant revenue cut.

“We have found out that the committees will have to pay annual taxes between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 50 lakh. That will leave the committees will almost nothing to keep aside as development funds,” the minister said.

“This draconian amendment will cause resentment among the farmers for whose benefit the regulated markets have been set up. They will be forced to turn middlemen once more,” he added.

Association secretary Subhasis Majumdar expressed similar fears.

“The union government cannot just go about declaring all agricultural markets in the country business establishments and force them to pay tax. We will launch a state-wide movement to mould and mobilise public opinion against this move by the NDA government,” he said.

Majumdar said regulated market committees charge a two per cent levy on the produce sold and use the funds to develop the markets.

“The funds are also used to build roads and provide villagers with drinking water, irrigation facilities and electricity. If we have to pay high taxes, we will have to raise the levy which will put pressure on the farmers,” he said. “We are in a quandary whether to raise the levy or cut down on development work.”

According to a report being drawn up by the income-tax department for the regulated market at Siliguri, the income tax payable would be Rs 30 lakh, Majumdar said. The market committees at Malda and Samsi will have shell out Rs 20 lakh each annually.

The state’s minister for agricultural marketing Chhaya Ghosh, too has expressed her apprehension about the policy.

“She has asked us to get in touch with our counterparts in other states and build up strong public opinion against the policy,” Majumdar said.