New Delhi, Aug. 19: The Odisha government has agreed to provide Rs 34,555-crore tax exemption to IOC's Paradip refinery under the new terms of agreement. "It is agreed that the state government will give a loan of Rs 700 crore per annum interest free for 15 years. Earlier, the state had agreed to provide total deferment of VAT," Pradhan said in a tweet. The withdrawal was to cost Rs 2,000 crore to IOC this year and would have progressively increased every year. The state government's withdrawal of tax incentives had forced IOC to reconsider its plans to expand the 15-million-tonne Paradip refinery by 5 million tonnes.

Source: The Telegraph August 19, 2017 18:55 UTC