INDUSTRIAL POLICY OF ASSAM 2003

DEFINITIONS AND ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

The Government of Assam has formulated a package of incentives for promotion and setting up industrial units and revitalization of sick industrial units and to promote investment in the State. The details of the package of incentives are given in Chapter - 3. Definitions and eligibility criteria are given below:

PERIOD OF VALIDITY

The new package of incentives hereinafter referred to as 2003 incentive scheme shall become effective from 1.10.2003 and remain in operation for a period of 5 years or till such time, as the Government may consider fit and proper. The Government also reserves the right to make any amendment to the scheme depending on the exigencies.

EFFECTIVE DATE

1. Effective date for 2003 Incentive Scheme shall be 1.10.2003 and from that date the 1997 Incentive Scheme under the Industrial Policy, 1997 will cease to be operative unless otherwise provided for.



2. The Industrial Units which are already availing incentives under 1997 Policy against Eligibility Certificate under the said scheme shall continue to be governed by the Industrial Policy of Assam 1997. (Except sales tax matter when VAT system may be introduced.) Such units shall be defined as 1997 continuing industries. However, no application for issue of Eligibility Certificate under 1997 Policy shall be accepted after 31st March, 2004 and no further Eligibility Certificate shall be issued to any unit under 1997 Policy after 30th September, 2004.

DEFINITIONS

1. ELIGIBLE UNIT means only New Units set up on or after 1.10.2003 and units undergoing expansion / diversification at the same place in the State of Assam on or after 1.10.2003 shall be eligible for incentives under 2003 Industrial Policy incentives provided that :
   
   A unit shall have employment of 80% people of Assam in the managerial cadre and 90% people of Assam in the non-managerial cadre and that over a period of 5 years from the commencement of commercial production such unit would take all effective steps to ensure 100% employment of people of Assam in non-managerial cadre and at least 90% in managerial post. They would further give an undertaking that if these conditions are violated; the State Government subsidies / incentives so availed by them would be fully refunded.



2. EXISTING UNIT means an industrial unit, which is or was in commercial production in the State of Assam at any time prior to 1.10.2003



3. NEW UNIT means an industrial unit, which has commenced commercial production in the State of Assam on or after 1.10.2003



4. EXPANSION of an industrial unit means additional fixed capital investment exceeding at least 25% of the capital investment of the existing unit or a new unit. For the purpose of calculation, gross value of all the capital investment made on land, building and plant and machinery of the existing/new unit will be taken into consideration. Expansion shall also imply an increase of at least 25% in the existing installed capacity as well as increase in additional employment of at least by 10%. Prior to going for expansion, the unit should be operating at least at a minimum of 80% capacity during the three previous years and prior intimation to the concerned implementing agency for 2003 policy.



5. DIVERSIFICATION means separately identifiable investment made by an existing industrial unit or a new unit in the fixed capital assets to set up a project for manufacturing of new product(s) provided that the additional investment in the fixed assets is not less than 25% of the gross fixed capital and increase of additional employment is at least by 10%.



6. MODERNISATION means separately identifiable investment made by an industrial unit involving new/improved technology having a definite advantage in reduction of cost of production provided the additional investment in fixed assets is not less than 25% of the gross fixed capital.
   
   The incentives available to the unit undergoing expansion/diversification/modernization shall be for the additional investment made and /or the increase in production over the average of three previous years prior to the year when the unit goes for expansion / diversification is applicable. The year for this purpose shall mean a financial year.



7. ANCILLARY INDUSTRY means an industrial unit which is engaged or is proposed to be engaged in the manufacture or production of parts, components, sub-assemblies, tooling or intermediates or rendering of services, undertaking supplies or renders or proposes to supply or renders not less than 50% of its production or services as the case may be, to one or more other industrial undertaking and whose investment in fixed assets in plant and machinery whether held on ownership terms or on lease or on hire purchase, does not exceed the limit as prescribed by the government of India.



8. EXPORT ORIENTED UNIT means an industrial unit which exports or undertakes to export at least 25% of its entire production of goods in a financial year.



9. SMALL SCALE INDUSTRIES means an industrial unit having investment in plant & machinery upto a limit of Rs. 1 Crore or as prescribed or modified by the Government of India from time to time.



10. LARGE / MEDIUM SCALE INDUSTRIES means an industrial unit having investment as per scale as prescribed by the Government of India from time to time.



11. MAJOR AND HEAVY INDUSTRY means an industrial unit having investment more than Rs. 100 crore with a minimum employment of four hundred (400) employees.



12. INVESTMENT IN PLANT & MACHINERY Computation of investment in plant and machinery will be as per laid down norms of the office of the Development Commissioner (Small Scale Industries), Government of India.



13. FINISHED PRODUCT means and includes the item manufactured by the eligible unit as considered under the project / scheme approved by the concerned term lending agency and / or by the implementing agency, together with by-product / scrap, which may get generated as incidental to and during the main production activity.



14. RAW MATERIALS mean and include all industrial components, intermediate goods, substances, consumable stores including furnace oil and light diesel oil used for captive generating sets required in the process of manufacture and packing materials utilized for packing of finished products by an eligible unit.



15. WHITE GOODS means items like Refrigerators and other freezing equipments, Dish washing machines, household washing machines or programmable type, microwave oven, Air Conditioners.



16. ENTERTAINMENT ELECTRONICS mean items like Compact Disc Players, Tape recorders, Two-in-One, Transistor Radios, Electronic musical equipments like Keyboards and Audio-Video recording and synthesizing equipments.



17. FIXED CAPITAL means and include cost of Land, Building including Factory shed, Godown, Laboratory, Plant and Machinery, Installation charges and Pre-operative expenses capitalized, Electrical and such other equipment which are directly related to production activities.



18. GOVERNMENT : Government, if not specifically mentioned, shall mean Government of Assam.



19. STATE: State means the State of Assam.



20. NON-ELIGIBLE UNIT Non-eligible unit means all industries, which are to be declared as Non-eligible under this policy as mentioned in Schedule - I.



21. HANDICRAFT INDUSTRIES Handicraft industries as defined by the Development Commissioner (Handicraft) and Khadi & Village Industries Commission.



22. TINY UNIT means an industrial unit having investment as per scale as prescribed by the Government of India from time to time.



23. PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED PERSON: Physically Handicapped Person means blind, deaf & dumb and orthopaedically handicapped with fifty per cent mobility.



24. RELIEF UNDERTAKING means an industrial unit declared as a relief undertaking by the Government of Assam under the Assam Industrial Relief Undertaking (Special Provision) Act 1984 or any other Scheme / Act of the Government.



25. COMMITTEE means district level / state level / AIDC level / Single Window Clearance committee constituted under the policy.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.

1. New Units commencing commercial production on or after 1st October 2003 or units undergoing expansion / modification / diversification at the same place in the State of Assam on or after 1st October 2003 shall be eligible for the fiscal incentives (only against the additional investment made for expansion / modernisation / diversification) or on sales of products produced in the expansion / modernisation / diversification part, as the case may be under this Policy.



2. The unit having IEM / PMT Registration.



3. The units shall have employment of 90% people of Assam in, non-managerial Cadres and in managerial cadre 80% which will subsequently be enhanced to 100% and 90% respectively within a period of 5 years.



4. Incentives under this Policy shall be available to eligible units in Private Sector, Assisted Sector, Joint Sector, State Public Sector and the Cooperative Sector.



5. A unit availing grants / incentives from a department / an agency under the State / Central Government / Foreign Agencies shall not be eligible for similar type of incentives under this Policy.



6. Relief undertaking shall be eligible for the incentives under this Policy for a maximum period of 3 (three) years. If any unit has already availed benefit of incentives for certain period under any previous Industrial Policies of the State Government as a Relief Undertaking, the total period of 3 years for such unit shall stand reduced by the period for which benefit as relief undertaking has already been availed under previous policies.

ELIGIBILITY CERTIFICATE

1. Eligibility Certificate to the eligible units shall be issued by
   
   
   1. The General Manager of the District Industries & Commerce Centre on approval of the District Level Committee where investment in plant and machinery is upto Rs. 10 lakhs.
   
   
   
   2. The General Manager of the District Industries & Commerce Centre on approval of the District Level Committee where investment in plant and machinery is upto Rs. 10 lakhs.
   
   
   
   3. The Managing Director AIDC on approval of AIDC Committee for medium and large scale industries, having investment in plant and machinery above Rs. 100 lakhs.
   
   
2. The incentives under the Policy cannot be claimed unless the Eligibility Certificate has been issued under the Policy by the concerned authority.

IMPLEMENTING AGENCY

The implementing agency for 2003 Industrial Policy Incentives in respect of SSI Sector will be the Director of Industries & Commerce, District Industries & Commerce Centre and for Large / Medium / Heavy and FDI Sector, it will be AIDC Ltd.

DISBURSEMENT OF INCENTIVES

1. The eligible unit will be entitled to get the disbursement of incentives only after issuance of sanctioning letter by the appropriate authorities, not merely after approval The eligible unit will be entitled to get the disbursement of SLC or DLC.



2. Disbursement of incentives will be dependent on sanction to be issued by the appropriate authority and availability of necessary budget & fund made available to the department for that purpose.

INTERPRETATION

The decision of Industries & Commerce Department, Government of Assam, as regards interpretations in these Policy resolutions / incentives shall be final.

RIGHT OF THE STATE GOVERNMENT

1. The State Government reserve the right to amend any provision (s) including amendment of any of the incentives / subsidies as and when necessary for development of industries and in the general public interest of the State from time to time under the provision of the Policy.



2. The State Government reserves the right to review the matter regarding sanction / disbursement of subsidies / incentives to the eligible industrial unit (s) and in this connection the State Government’s decision shall be final.



3. State Government reserves the right to modify the non-eligible list of the industries as and when required in the interest of general industrial growth of the State.

PROCEDURE, GUIDELIENS & APPLICATION FORMS

A set of guidelines including application forms and procedures for getting various incentives will be issued separately.