VAT session organized at R.S. Pura
The senior officers of Commercial Taxes Department (CTD) had a long session with the traders and consumers at R. S. Pura the other day with regard to post VAT implementation situation arising in the area.
The Chairman, Vice Chairman and members of R. S. Pura Municipal Committee besides President Karyana Association including brick kiln owners participated in the session.
Additional Commissioner Commercial Taxes (Tax Planning), Jammu gave a detailed summary of the new system of taxations, besides answering the volley of questions put forth by the traders including billing, thrash-hold limit, kinds of registrations, filing of returns etc.
The officers also replied to the queries raised by the traders.
Additional Commissioner Commercial Taxes (Adm) Jammu thanked the participants and assured that steps have already been initiated to ensure that the prospective dealers get registration on spot. The participants appreciated the efforts made by the department to reach out to the traders in different corners of Jammu division and also educate them on various points of the new taxation regime.
More: webjk.nic.in
People in Srinagar are not as aware about VAT as they are in Jammu, Kanwal K Kaul draws a comparison
I am a local Industrial Entrepreneur-cum-Industrial Consultant based at Jammu. I have traversed Industrial Road Map of J&K State during more than two decades and felt that it’s hot and cold. Of late, I studied the State VAT Act and got closely associated with it. After the introduction of VAT regime in the State Government, this is my first visit to valley though I come frequently being Industrial Consultant of M/s FIL Industries Limited. After having interactions with business fraternity, I found that there is more awakening on VAT Chapter in Jammu compared to Srinagar. Reasons being that during the implementation of VAT regime, most of the offices were in Winter Capital and Commercial Tax Officers had numerous elaborated interactions with the Public and Trade Community.
I have observed the spirit has not been same here. During course of purchase of a medicine from a medical shop, I made purchase in a minute while it took me fifteen minutes to explain VAT regime. I am sorry to say that the media too here has not conducted any type of survey about the knowledge of VAT regime, which would have been eye opener to the authorities and would have propagated the salient features of VAT more vigorously.
VAT simplified
It is difficult to explain VAT in few lines even then I am making a humble try. VAT, Value Added Tax, means that the tax is charged at every stage wherever and due to whatsoever means there is addition in the value of a product/commodity. In nutshell the idea of Value Added Tax is to tax the value addition made as goods traverse their path to end consumer. The end cost of the product includes a considerable amount of cost that is and can be attributed to the profit margins of various strata of consumers in the distribution network till the product reaches to end Consumer. VAT is a multiple point turnover tax imposed at all stages of production of the sales generated by Commercial Identities. To arrive at value addition, the purchase value of an entity is reduced from Sale Value. As per VAT Act, it is important to maintain VAT chain till the product reaches to end consumer.
More: greaterkashmir.com
4/21/2005
KTMF rejects VAT, leaders to court arrest today
KTMF rejects VAT, leaders to court arrest today
The Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers’ Federation (KTMF) today rejected the value added tax (VAT) regime in the state and said its leaders would court arrest at Srinagar as well as Jammu to show their resentment against the ‘cruel’ regime.
While the Srinagar-based leaders would court arrest at 2:30 PM at Budshah Chowk, the leaders led by Yashpal Sharma, president of Retail Dealers’ Association in Jammu will court arrest at Shalimar Park at 11:30 AM.
While addressing a press conference Tuesday at a local hotel here the leaders came down heavily on the PDP-led coalition government accusing it of implementing the ‘cruel’ value added tax (VAT) regime in a post-haste manner.
Equating the VAT with the dreaded POTA Noor Muhammad Dand, federation’s spokesman said the law has been implemented against the interests of the traders and consumers alike.
While rejecting the government’s claims on prices easing under VAT, he said traders fail to understand how the prices would come down when a number of articles exempted under the previous dispensation have been brought under VAT. Many exempted products have been put in 12.5 per cent slab under VAT, he added.
While expressing their satisfaction over the ‘reunion’ of the two embittered factions of the federation, the leaders said henceforth there are no two factions of the federation and the government “would have to capitulate.”
He said that even as the government is trying to give the impression that the suggestions of the traders have been incorporated in the VAT legislation, the truth is far from that.
“No suggestions have been accommodated in the legislation and we have been put to jeopardy with the implementation of the VAT,” he said.
Dand said that although many other states in India have raised the exemption limit to Rs. 10.00 lacs, the state of Jammu and Kashmir has kept the it at Rs 5.00 lacs.
The government could have deferred the implementation of the VAT, but to earn the brownie points at the centre it has implemented the regime without focussing on the ground realities.
“We have been suffering for the last more than one and a half decades. During this period the traders have suffered extensive losses. But instead of coming with some incentives, the government has brought the VAT,” he said.
The ground position in the state strongly militates against the implementation of the VAT. “We do not have well built roads, better communication system, reliable and assured power supply, he said.
Dand came down heavily on the government for what he said its failure to keep the buffer stock of essentials available in the state at the time of road closure.
More: greaterkashmir.com