Pune: The Maharashtra government has reversed its decision to reduce the cess charged on the sale and purchase of agricultural produce within Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs) just 12 hours after announcing the change. Initially welcomed by market committees, the decision’s revocation has left traders disheartened.

On Monday, the state government had issued an ordinance lowering the cess on transactions in APMC market yards. Traders, who currently pay between 76 paise to 1 rupee on every 100 rupees' worth of agricultural goods, were expecting the cess to be reduced to a range of 25 to 50 paise as per the new directive.

However, strong opposition from the Maharashtra State Market Committee Cooperative Federation led to the swift withdrawal of the ordinance by Tuesday (October 15).

The Cooperative Federation expressed concerns that such a reduction would financially destabilize market committees across the state. They argued that the cess cut would threaten the functioning of these committees, which play a crucial role in supporting agricultural trade infrastructure.

The Federation had requested the government to reconsider the ordinance and warned of potential legal action should the decision stand.

Heeding the Federation's objections, the state government decided to retract the order. While traders had initially celebrated the news of reduced cess, they expressed disappointment when the government withdrew the ordinance.

An action committee, consisting of key organizations such as the Poona Merchants Chamber and the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industries, and Agriculture (Mumbai), had been lobbying for the reduction of the cess and continues to push for the relief.

“The decision to reduce cess was flawed, and we presented our concerns to the relevant authorities. After our discussions, the government agreed to our request and has now withdrawn the ordinance.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar played a pivotal role in facilitating this reversal,” said Balasaheb Nahata, President of the Maharashtra State Market Committee Cooperative Federation.

Market Committees Welcome the Withdrawal

Dilip Kalbhor, President of the Pune Agricultural Produce Market Committee, lauded the decision to revoke the ordinance. "The cess reduction would have placed market committees in a difficult financial position.

The Maharashtra State Market Committee Cooperative Federation has diligently worked to highlight the situation to the government. We are pleased with the decision to withdraw the ordinance," Kalbhor stated.