Tanzanian govt wants to scrap 65pc of cashew export levy that belongs to farmers
What you need to know:
Currently, the law requires that 65 per cent of the crop export levy be remitted to farmers through the Cashew nut Board of Tanzania (CBT) and the government remains with 35 per cent of it.
Dar es Salaam. The government has proposed changes in the Cashewnut Industry Act (Cap,203), whereby the export levy will be collected in the consolidated fund, instead of the current situation where some of the fund is collected in the cashewnut fund.
The amendment aims at ensuring that part of export levy collected is not remitted to farmers for developing the crop as it is the case now, but instead all the monies be deposited in the treasury’s consolidated fund.
Currently, the law requires that 65 per cent of the crop export levy be remitted to farmers through the Cashew nut Board of Tanzania (CBT) and the government remains with 35 per cent of it.
But, the amendment proposal contained in the Finance Act, 2018, wants Section 17 A of the Principal Act be amended by deleting contents of subsection 2 and substituting it with the new content.
According to the Finance Act, 2018, subsection 3 will be deleted.
The proposed content of subsection 2 shall be read as follows: “The total amount of export levy collected under subsection (1) shall be deposited in the Consolidated Fund.”
The new development comes a day after government was tasked to explain on the whereabouts of Sh261.28 billion, part of the export levy claimed by CBT.
Debating in Parliament yesterday the Parliamentary Budget Committee chairperson Hawa Ghasia sought comprehensive answers from the government, noting reports had it that the money intended to develop the crop had been spent on other purposes.
