Mineral Area Development Authority v. Steel Authority of India (2024)

In July 2024, a nine-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court ruled by an 8:1 majority that royalty paid under the MMDR Act, 1957 is a contractual payment by a mining lessee to the lessor for the right to extract minerals, and is not a "tax." This meant states retain the power under Entry 50 (State List) to impose their own taxes on mineral rights and mineral-bearing land, separate from the royalty payable to the Union-notified scheme. The ruling overruled the seven-judge bench decision in India Cement Ltd. v. State of Tamil Nadu (1990), which had held royalty to be a tax and denied states this taxing power.