Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and other at a meet of 'Udyami Panchayat' in Patna on Monday

PATNA: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on Monday asked the government officials to take some extra efforts to invite more investment proposals in the state under the Industrial Investment Promotion Policy- 2016 (IIPP).

Chairing a meeting of ‘Udyami Panchayat’ (entrepreneurs’ get-together) after a gap of seven months at the CM secretariat here, Nitish said he was informed in a presentation that the state had so far received investment proposals of only Rs 14,855 crore under the IIPP-2016.

“We need to work more and take some extra efforts to attract additional investment proposals,” he told the officials at the meeting which was convened for the mid-term review of the IIPP-2016. The last Udyami Panchayat held on December 31, 2018.

CM also announced that the state’s industries department would honour all those people who would come to set up industries in Bihar.

Responding to certain suggestions from the industries and trade bodies, the CM asked the state’s chief secretary Deepak Kumar to set up a committee of senior officials to take a call on the suggestions provided by industrialists and traders. “We will take necessary steps to improve the IIPP based on feedback received from the industries,” CM said.

Raising the issue of non-reimbursement of the refundable amount under the GST, the Bihar Industries Association (BIA) president KPS Keshri pointed out at the meeting that traders and industrialists in the state were not getting reimbursement under the GST since September 2017, as the state government is yet to frame rules for regulating the reimbursement process.

To this, state’s finance minister Sushil Kumar Modi said that the files related to the rules framing had been approved. Now, it would soon be sent to the cabinet for its approval, he said. Modi assured the BIA members that rules for reimbursement under the GST would soon be notified.

The industries and trade bodies also demanded necessary amendments in the IIPP-2016 given the introduction of the GST regime. “The provisions like VAT, entry tax and other commercial taxes which are now non-existent, should be removed from the IIPP,” they suggested. To this, the CM agreed and asked the industries officials to do necessary improvements.

The BIA, through a memorandum submitted at the meeting, also demanded certain incentives for the development of mega industrial units in the state. “The government should consider providing 100% exemption on stamp duty and land conversion fee, interest subvention limit up to 50% of the project cost and GST reimbursement up to 150% of the total project cost to promote mega industrial units in the state,” Keshri told TOI.

Bihar Chamber of Commerce and Industries (BCCI) president PK Agarwal, Bihar Mahila Udyog Sangh president Menka Sinha and ASSOCHAM ’s Bihar region president Ram Lal Khetan also attended the meet.

