Former finance minister Asim Dasgupta today claimed that
the majority of e-governance initiatives that his
successor Amit Mitra announced yesterday were launched
during his tenure.
“We introduced online registration for value-added tax
(VAT) in January 1, 2010, and I had mentioned it in my
budget speech. We had also set up over 100 facilitation
centres for small businessmen to help them in online
registration,” Dasgupta said.
According to him, more than 50 per cent of over 2.25 lakh dealers
have already made online registrations for VAT. Dasgupta also claimed that
electronic filing of returns had been going on since 2008-09 in Bengal. “Over 1
lakh dealers availed the benefit of e-filing in 2009-10 and that’s why there is
nothing new in it,” said the longest serving finance minister of Bengal.
Mitra had claimed yesterday that the government was for the first time launching
an e-governance initiative in the commercial tax directorate in five key areas.
The former finance minister said that he was surprised that his successor did
not mention that many of these initiatives had started before he assumed office.
He, however, said Mitra’s initiatives in e-enabling the option under the
composition scheme and payment under industrial promotion assistance plan
through electronic clearing system were new.
“It was not mentioned that the Left Front government had introduced online
payment of tax and way bills. Neither was it mentioned that our state was the
first to computerise the entire budget preparation exercise around 10 years
ago,” said Dasgupta.
