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Welcoming
the move of the Government, Mr S.R. Rangamurthy, President
of Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing
Cooperative Ltd, told Business Line here on Friday that
arecanut cooperatives will be in a better position to
compete with private traders in the domestic market.
Some
private traders evade tax, he added, and the reduction of
VAT will help cooperatives become more competitive.
Mr
Rajaram Bhat, President of the Mangalore Agriculturists’
Sahakari Sangha – another cooperative that deals in
arecanut – said that reduction in tax on arecanut was
one of the major demands of the sector.
Level-playing
field
He
said that the low tax will help bring down the tax
evasion, thus providing a level-playing field for
cooperatives and private traders. The reduction in VAT is
a welcome move by the Karnataka Government, he added.
Mr
M. Srinivasa Achar, President of All-India Arecanut
Growers’ Association, said that the reduction in VAT
will ultimately benefit the growers as the cooperatives
will become more competitive. With 2 per cent VAT, the
private trader may find it disadvantageous to evade tax.
This move will ensure stability in the market.
At
a time when farmers are witnessing fall in the prices of
various other commodities, this move will provide a relief
to them, he added.
Karnataka
is the major arecanut producer in the country. It
contributes nearly 40 per cent to the total production of
arecanut.
Source
: The HinduBusinessLine, India, dated 22/02/2009
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