Delaying VAT a wrong decision for Chhattisgarh

          Raipur, September 14, 2008: At last Chhattisgarh government today admitted its decision to delay in implementation of Value Added Tax in the state was a wrong decision.

          Had that not been true, the Commercial Tax Minister Amar Agrawal would not have taken credit of increasing revenue many fold after the VAT was in force in the state besides having best of tax system in the country.

          During the Congress regime the Commercial tax collection was about Rs 1600 crore which had touched Rs 4500 crore after the implementation of the Value Added Tax, the Minister said while apparently admitting that the decision of the BJP government to delay the implementation of VAT was a wrong decision.

          After the BJP came to power it had decided to defer the decision to implement the VAT in the state claiming the new tax structure would reduce tax collection, but today he said the just opposite thing.

          Addressing a function of the Chhattisgarh Sales Tax Bar Association here, the Minister also said the state has the best of tax structure because of which with out any raid on any business establishments the revenue from taxes are increasing every day.

          Also to bring in uniformity in tax structure in the country a new tax system was under active consideration at the national level, the Minister said.

          The Empower Committee on VAT was actively considering on the Goods and Services Tax as the Finance Minister P Chidambaram wanted it to be implemented by 2010 in the country to bring in uniformity in tax among all states, Agrawal, who is also a member of that Empower Committee said.

          Agrawal said the Goods and Services Tax was under implementation in Brazil and Canada and the Centre wanted it to be implemented in all states, he said.