Traders’ report card gives thumbs down to Vat
Traders’ report card gives thumbs down to Vat
Criticising the value added tax (Vat) regime, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has said that the tax structure has become more complicated after the implementation of Vat. In a report card released by the body on Wednesday, CAIT secretary-general Praveen Khandelwal said under the new regime, the goods have been defined loosely. The government has still not come out with the final rate of taxes.
The report card is a review of Vat regime’s performance since its implementation in April, 2005.
The report card said the there is still no clarity on industrial input, capital goods or the rate of tax on life saving drugs. The final list of tax-free items and items with 4% rate of tax is still awaited, said Mr Khandelwal.
The empowered committee on Vat had said that with the introduction of Vat other taxes would be abolished. However, CAIT has said that only turnover tax and surcharge, which are part of sales tax, have been abolished. Even on the central sales tax, which was to be phased out, the government is yet to draw a roadmap, the report card said.
More: financialexpress.com