The Hindu : New Delhi News : Govt. told to desist from implementing VAT

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Saturday, Feb 19, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Govt. told to desist from implementing VAT

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, FEB. 18. The Delhi BJP president, Harsh Vardhan, today said Delhi Government should desist from implementing the Value Added Tax (VAT) in Delhi from April 1, 2005 without taking the traders into confidence and having their concurrence to the new tax law.

Stating that there was a different of opinion between Finance Ministers of all States on the white paper circulated among them on December 14, 2004 for its perusal and implementations, Dr. Vardhan said many States have registered their objections about the discrepancies in VAT.

Of the view that the traders of Delhi were quite perplexed about the discrepancies brought forth, he said it was strange that in such a circumstance the Congress Government in Delhi is going to produce a Bill in respect of VAT in the Legislative Assembly in the coming session without the Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, even deeming it necessary to call a meeting of Delhi's traders associations.

Pointing out that the chairman of the high powered committee constituted for implementation of VAT, Aseem Das Gupta, who was also the Finance Minister of West Bengal, had clearly stated that before implementing the new tax law the traders and industrialists would be taken into confidence, the BJP leader said however Ms. Dikshit has taken no initiative to take the traders into confidence till now.

The BJP president said all the traders' organisation of Delhi will observe a bandh on February 21 in pursuance of a countrywide strike called on that day to protest against the implementation of VAT. As such, he said, the Chief Minister should decide not to apply VAT from the coming financial year the same way she had decided not to implement it in the year gone in which the Delhi Assembly elections were fought.

Noting that the harsh provisions of VAT should be reviewed and fines and punishments should not be inhuman, he said, the law relating to VAT should be made easy and small traders should be kept out of its purview.

Also, he said, the position regarding confusing provisions of VAT should be made clear and all goods of daily needs should be placed at minimum levy rates under VAT so that the essential goods do not become out of reach for the common man.

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