The Jharkhand High Court has directed the State Government to refund over Rs. 113 crores collected as Covid cess from Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) after the legal validity of the levy had expired in July 2023. The order comes as a relief for BCCL and coal consumers, who were bearing the additional cess cost.
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A division bench of Justice Satyajit Narayan Prasad and Justice Arun Kumar Rai delivered the verdict on 21st August. BCCL had filed a petition arguing that despite the Jharkhand Mineral-Bearing Land (Covid-19 Pandemic) Cess Ordinance, 2020, restricting cess recovery for three years, the State continued to collect Rs. 10 per tonne from July 2023 onwards. The court directed the Government to verify the amount within three weeks and refund the excess within eight weeks.
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Financial Relief for BCCL and Consumers
BCCL officials confirmed receiving the court order on Friday. The company had been paying nearly Rs. 10 Lakh per day as cess, amounting to around Rs. 3 crores per month, which was ultimately recovered from coal buyers. The refund is expected to ease BCCL’s financial burden and bring down costs for both power and non-power sector consumers linked to its coal dispatches.
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Legal experts believe the order could set a precedent for other coal companies that continued to pay cess beyond its validity. BCCL has already stopped charging the cess from 15th July 2025, pending clarity from the State Government. The court’s direction is expected to improve liquidity for the company and help in reducing coal procurement costs across sectors.
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