Shimla, May 8 (IANS) Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma Saturday said there will be no extension of the central excise duty exemption granted to hill states under a special industrial package that expired in March this year.

'There would be no extension of the central excise duty exemption beyond March 2010 granted under a special industrial package to northern hill states (Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir) and northeastern hill states after the expiry of the sunset clause,' he said.

The National Democratic Alliance government had granted a special industrial development package to these states in 2003 for 10 years that provided 100 percent excise duty exemption also. But the period was later curtailed to 2010.

'Three major components of the package - income tax benefits and capital and transport subsidies - will continue as per the original time frame in these states,' Sharma told reporters here.

He was here to attend an interactive session organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Sharma refuted the allegations of chief ministers of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand that the central government has discriminated against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states by not extending the package till its original time frame of 2013.

Sharma said: 'Let me clarify here that the industrial package is alive till March 2013. It's not dead...(except for the central excise duty exemption) the industry will continue to get other benefits.'