Mamata writes to Modi, seeks export tax exemption for Gobindobhog rice

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him for exemption of 20 per cent export tax on the state's famed Gobindobhog rice similar to the one given to Basmati.

In the letter, Banerjee said the Centre's decision to impose 20 per cent "customs duty" (export tax) on premium rice varieties such as Gobindobhog has badly affected its



export.

"Unfortunately, the Government of India has imposed a 20 per cent customs duty (export tax) on rice, as a result of which the export business of the premium 'Gobindobhog' variety has been badly affected with a negative impact on the demand and domestic price of the paddy, and hence on the income of farmers," Banerjee wrote in her two-page letter to Modi on Wednesday.