STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Terming the State Budget as anti-trade and anti-poor, the Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) on Tuesday asserted that business fraternity is totally disappointed as the main demands of the trading community including rationalization of taxes as compared to pan India, amnesty on recoveries of taxes and simplification of tax system to discourage inspector raj and corruption were not addressed.
Addressing a press conference, CCI President Rakesh Gupta said that there is no comprehensive industrial policy to help the existing industry or persuade new industries to flourish. He termed the pre budget meetings as eyewash alleging that the finance department has presented the budget without considering the impact which it would have on the trade and the common man after increase in VAT and Toll tax.
“We demand complete roll back of increase in VAT as the trade can’t survive with highest ever taxes being imposed as compared with rest of India.
Also, the increase in State Toll Tax which we already term illegal will make all commodities costlier”, he remarked adding that Chamber has convened a meeting of all business associations on Wednesday to call for a complete Bandh which may lead to indefinite Bandh starting from 4th June if the State Government does not roll back the increase in VAT and Toll tax.
The Chamber also questioned the logic behind increase in VAT on aviation fuel, when State Government is demanding cut in air fares from the Union Government.
“The steep illogical increase in VAT from products under 5 per cent to 14.5 per cent will make most of the common mans needs go out of their budget and the finance department should know that the main manufacturers across India will not change their MRPs just for the State of J&K as their MRP is the same pan India.
On one hand GST will be in place any moment and on the other hand the Finance department in JK state has done all this to give boost to illegal trade so that they can earn more through corruption”, he added.
“The Chamber of Commerce and Industry demands complete roll back on increase of VAT of zero to 5 per cent and 5 per cent to 14.5 per cent and also complete roll back on increase of toll before Saturday i.e. June 4 and the complete budget to be presented again, failing which government should be ready to face the wrath of the poor people of the devastated state of Jammu and Kashmir”, he warned.
“On one hand the department of commercial taxes harasses the traders for issuing VAT-51 invoices and on the other it is mum over this practice being adopted by outsider big chains like Best Price for reasons best known to them.
On one hand most of the political parties advocate Article 370 and on the other hand is increasing the taxes just to help the outsiders in online business”, he alleged.
Sham Lal Langer, Senior Vice President, Deepak Aggarwal, Junior Vice President, Arun Gupta, Secretary General, Rahul Mahajan, Secretary and Ashu Gupta, Treasurer.
