BKU national president BS Mann objects to levy of transport tax on tractors

Shots off letter to Joint Secretary (Transport), Ministry of Road Transport, GoI; Demands to scrap move and imposition of no transport tax on tractors
Ludhiana, October 23, 2017: BKU national president Bhupinder Singh Mann has shot off a letter to Joint Secretary (Transport), Ministry of Road Transport, GoI, raising his objection to levy of transport tax on tractors.
The representation reads as under: “As Chairman of the All India Kisan Coordination Committee (a coordination body of farmers' organisation from 17 states) and as the National President of Bharti Kisan Union (BKU), I hereby file strong objection on the proposal of GoI to levy of Transport Tax on Tractors.
This step is anti farmer and anti agriculture.
You are aware that the agriculture sector is passing through an unprecedented crisis and farmers are committing suicides due to in-sufficient income generated from agriculture. Thus they are forced to take loans/debt to keep themselves alive.
This new proposed tax on tractors, which is estimated to be an (average) Rs. 30,000 per tractor/annum (Rs 2500 per month approx) will break the backbone of the farmers.
The agriculture sector is a major consumer of Diesel with about 13% of the total consumption accounted for by it. Within agriculture, the consumption is tractors (7.4%), pump-sets (2.9%) and agriculture implements (2.7%).
GoI is already levying over 100% taxes on diesel, which is one of the highest in the World. Over three years, the government has mopped up Rs 12.8 lakh crore as tax revenue from petroleum product sales, mainly that of from petrol and diesel. The NDA government has been milking the sector for higher tax revenues, denying the consumers, including farmers, full benefit of lower international crude oil prices that prevailed during the initial years.
Thus, agriculture sector has already paid more than Rs 1 lakh crores to the Government in form of Taxes on diesel. Further the GST on Tractors has been increased to 28%.
The Government must understand that a tractor is an agriculture equipment which is used to plough fields. In spare time, the rural youth rent out this equipment to till fields of others' thus generating some alternative employment. This move will badly hit this side vocation for rural youth who earn some extra money.
I am surprised and amazed at this move; especially when Sh. Narendra Modi led BJP Government had promised, in the manifesto, to pay farmers as per Swaminathan Formula (which was never done). Rather than increasing the MSP, the Government is trying to strangulate the farmers from all possible ways.
Further Mr. Modi made another astonishing announcement to double the farmers' income by 2022. Is this the formula to double the farm income?

Against the common myth and fallacious propaganda, the Indian Agriculture sector is already subjected to heavy indirect taxes. Let me reproduce the stand of India before WTO.”
He said Ministry of Commerce has said that “"Since our total AMS is negative and that too by a huge magnitude, the question of our undertaking reduction commitments did not arise. As such, we have not undertaken any commitment in our schedule filed under GATT."
Further, Mann said latest figures obtained from Ministry of Commerce substantiate that Indian farmers are getting negative subsidy, or in other words they are subjected to heavy taxes.
“On behalf of farmers’ organisations, I request that this move should be scrapped and no transport tax should be levied on tractors.”