Andhra Pradesh Council adopts bills to amend VAT Act

The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council today adopted four Bills to amend the Value Added Tax Act to levy 12.5 per cent tax on cigarettes and manufactured tobacco products, while continuing unmanufactured tobacco and beedis in the exempted list.

Piloting the Bill in the House, Excise Minister K Ramakrishna said Mesta or Bimili, Pillamodi, Coir and Coir products (excluding rubberised matresses) and Khandasari Sugar were deleted from the fourth schedule liable for VAT at the rate of four per cent.

The House also adopted a Bill, piloted by Registration Minister J Ratnakara Rao, to further amend the Andhra Pradesh Chit Funds Act, 1971, incorporating certain provisions of the Central Chit Funds Act to check the mushrooming growth of unauthorised chits and providing more safeguards to the subscribers in chit business. The Bill stipulated nine conditions, including prescribing Rs one lakh as minimum paid up capital for doing chit fund business, 100 per cent security of the chit amount prescribed, maximum limit of five years as duration of chits and investment of ten per cent of net annual private in reserve fund.

CPI(M) member P Nageswar Rao, while supporting the Bill, sought not to harass the chit fund companies for political reasons, taking advantage of the Bill. Congress members M Sarada, Krishna Reddy, Rajyalakshmi and Manik Rao said the Bill would protect the interests of small subscribers.

The Bills were adopted in the absence of the main Opposition Telugu Desam Party, whose members were earlier suspended for the question hour for stalling the House proceedings, demanding immediate discussion on MSP hike for paddy.