Updated on 16 Jun 2026
The Ministry of Coal has notified the Mineral Concession (Amendment) Rules, 2022 on 07.09.2022, amending the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960. The amendment reduced the penal interest on delayed royalty payments from 24% to 12%, included provisions for royalty adjustment and decriminalised certain compliance provisions to promote ease of doing business in the mining sector.
The Mineral Concession (Amendment) Rules, 2022 have been promulgated under section 13 of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 for amending the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960 by the Ministry of Coal. The notification was made on 07 September 2022 and became applicable from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette. These amendments have introduced a number of significant changes related to the payment of royalty, interest on delay in payment of such royalty, calculation of royalty based on final declaration of coal/lignite grade, and removal of criminal liability for certain provisions contained under the Mineral Concessions Rules. One of the important amendments includes reduction of rate of penal interest from 24 percent per annum to 12 percent per annum on delay in payment of royalty, rent, fee and other charges to the Government. In addition to that, provision for adjusting the amount of additional royalty or shortfall in royalty based on the final declaration of National Coal Index or National Lignite Index has been introduced in the amendment. These amendments have been made for promoting ease of doing business and providing economic relief to the mining sector.