Raman makes Cigarette costly, cooked food cheaper

     Raipur, February 22, 2010: Presenting the budget for next fiscal, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh today said cigarette would be costlier from April 1, next where as cooked food would become cheaper.

     Giving relief to poors in preparation of food, the Chief Minister said kerosene wick and kerosene stove have been made free from Value Added Tax (VAT) along with roasted and fried grams and also that of camphor.

     Sweets is attracting a VAT of 5 per cent where as for cooked food it is 14 per cent and the VAT on cooked food had been proposed to reduce to 5 per cent in the budget.

     To encourage usage of fly ash bricks, it had been exempted from entry tax from next fiscal.

     The state proposed a 25 per cent entry tax from the current 10 per cent on the lime stone used for clinker sent outside the state through stock transfer, he said.

    To discourage smoking, an entry tax of 7.5 per cent has been proposed on cigarette. Tobacco and Gutkha are having a 7.5 per cent tax.

     It has also been proposed to make entertainment tax free on cinema tickets up to Rs 50.

    The Chief Minister also said his Government would promote filing of e-Return by businessmen and also make the system more simplified for refund of excess paid of taxes to the Commercial Tax Department.