The Supreme Court would decide on the validity of the government’s retrospective levy of additional royalties on miners to fund local development under the Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana, a ministry official said. The Mines Ministry, in charge of implementing the Mines and Mineral Development and Regulation Act of 2015, had notified the District Mineral Fund rules in September 2015, but made the additional levy of 10 per cent of royalties for mines auctioned under the new law and 30 per cent of royalties for mines allocated in the past applicable from January 12, 2015, when the Act came into force. Clubbing cases The mining industry had challenged the move in a few high courts and had managed to secure a stay against the retrospective applicability of the rules — for the period between January 2015 and September 2015 — from the Delhi High Court. “We had moved an application with the Supreme Court to club all those cases and it has been accepted. Now, when it comes up for hearing, we will see what the court’s stance is on the issue,” a senior mines ministry official said. Before notifying the District Mineral Fund (DMF) rules, the Law Ministry had told the Mines Ministry that they should be applicable from the date of enactment of the law. DMF liabilities For now, till the apex court takes up the case, industry has been told to pay their DMF liabilities on a prospective basis. “We will see how the court interprets the issue of paying for the months before the notification of these rules,” the official said. Industry officials said that the government’s approach on DMF runs contrary to its stated commitment to refrain from retrospective taxation. “The PM has said retrospective taxation like the one introduced by the UPA to tax Vodafone, is a thing of the past. But these rules were made applicable retrospectively,” a senior mining industry official said. Basant Poddar, V-P, Federation of Indian Mineral Industries said the industry is keen on quick resolution and will comply with the court’s decision. The mining industry had secured a stay on retrospective applicability of the rules