India, Aug. 17 -- The recently concluded monsoon session of Parliament passed the Mines and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill, which takes away the powers of states to impose levies on major minerals.

The bill, which restricts states from imposing additional, retrospective and unpredictable taxes was passed in both houses of Parliament without any substantive discussion.

The law was primarily aimed to negate the impact of the July 25, 2024, Supreme Court judgement that allowed states to impose mineral tax and recover arrears retrospectively since April 1, 2005. It is estimated that the SC ruling would have allowed the states to recover arrears worth Rs.1.5 to Rs.2 lakh crore from major mining companies retrospectively.

In August 20...