Telangana to levy 25% penalty on rice millers for defaulting on deliveries to FCI

With the center refusing to give Telangana additional time to deliver rice due to be submitted to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) from the fall 2021-22 season, the state government has decided to impose a fine of 25 per cent on millers who fail to fulfill their obligations before the deadline expires.

After the March 31 deadline expired, about 2.2 thousand tons of rice were left unmilled in about 500 mills. “They have to pay a 25 per cent fine on the value of the rice that has not been delivered to the FCI. They have to pay an additional 12 per cent fine to be eligible to supply rice in the 2022-23 marketing season,” a senior government official said.

“Despite numerous requests from the state government, the center has refused to give any further extension of time beyond March 31,” he said.

For use in the Public Distribution System

The state government will take the remaining stocks and use them for PDS needs. However, it does set a paragraph. It required the mills to pay at least one-fifth of the fine to gain eligibility to deliver the shares. “Then they must liquidate the remaining fine in four equal installments with interest and complete the delivery of rice from the remaining rice stock,” the official said.

The government has asked millers to speed up the process as fresh rice stocks are expected to arrive from the 2022-23 Rabi’ season.

More trouble

Every year, the state government assigns rice purchasing quotas to different mills based on central purchasing requirements. The millers process the rice and provide the rice to the FCI on behalf of the state government.

Mill owners are facing an even bigger problem as the deadline for delivering the 2021-22 spring season expires on May 31. From Karimnagar he said Business line.