The Punjab government has revoked the 4 percent levy imposed on vehicles transporting livestock through the state, ending the acute mutton shortage in Kashmir. The resolution followed intervention by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who raised the matter with his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann.
Tax Revoked After Coordination Committee Efforts
Khazir Mohammad Regoo, president of the All Kashmir Wholesale and Retail Mutton Dealers Association, announced the development on Friday. "The matter has been resolved after the Punjab authorities revoked the levy," Regoo said. He explained that the association formed a coordination committee that camped in Punjab for ten days to take up the issue with the government there.
"Members of the coordination committee were in Punjab for the last 10 days. They met several people in the Punjab government. Thank God, the government there understood that it was an illegal tax and revoked it," Regoo said, expressing gratitude to political leaders, people, and media for their support.
Background of the Crisis
Kashmir faced a severe mutton shortage after Punjab imposed the 4 percent tax on livestock transport vehicles. Kashmiri traders raised the issue with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and other political leaders in the Valley. Abdullah on Monday said he had taken up the concerns of mutton dealers with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, seeking his intervention.
Abdullah informed Mann that livestock-laden vehicles bound for Jammu and Kashmir were allegedly being stopped by certain contractor groups operating in connection with cattle fairs, and subjected to unauthorised fee collection, despite carrying all valid permits and requisite documentation.
Chief Minister's Intervention
"I have taken up this issue with the Punjab government, seeking immediate intervention to ensure unhindered movement of livestock transport vehicles through Punjab," Abdullah had said. "They are just using the highway. There is no justification for unauthorised levies being imposed on mutton dealers from Jammu and Kashmir," he added.
The chief minister also posted on social media a letter he had written to Mann last week. In the letter, he told Mann that such disruptions not only caused avoidable delays, but also financial losses and hardship to transporters, adversely affecting animal welfare.
Abdullah said the matter was being examined by the Kashmir Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs through an internal committee. "The findings indicate that transporters are reportedly being compelled to make substantial payments per vehicle during transit without any apparent legal sanction. The committee has further observed that livestock movement is exempt from GST and that the continued imposition of such charges is placing an additional burden on the livestock trade, with consequential impact on meat prices and consumers in Jammu and Kashmir," he added.
Call for Cooperation
Abdullah reminded Mann that Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir share longstanding bonds of friendship, cooperation and economic interdependence. "Any such practices, if found to be occurring, are inconsistent with the spirit of cooperation that has traditionally characterised relations between us and have understandably caused concern among the trading community," the letter read.
The resolution of the dispute is expected to stabilize mutton prices and ensure regular supply to consumers in the Valley.
