The
Excise and Taxation Department will draw out modalities for the
project. Before the Governor's Budget speech on Day One of the
session, the plan to have a dedicated VAT fund was discussed
with Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.
The
CM has accorded his approval to the initiative, said sources.
Talking to The Indian Express, Excise and Taxation Commissioner
S S Brar said, "A policy in this regard will be made. The
government is committed to have this fund for social and health
sector."
Sources
said the fund reserves would be spent on specific schemes for
the uplift of the economically-weaker sections of the society. A
senior official said, "Now that a decision has been taken,
the scope and form of utilisation of reserves will be clearly
spelt out in the policy."
This
is not the lone scheme mooted by the government keeping in mind
concerns on the social and health front. The state government
has recently put in place a scheme where officials will
contribute Rs 1,000 as premium amount for health insurance cover
for the below poverty line families.
In
a bid to increase collections and check tax evasion, the
government proposes to honor businessmen and department
personnel who provide information about tax evasion in the
state, said sources.
Meanwhile,
the Finance Department has received compilation of monthly
statement of the broad fiscal indicators. This will be the last
such exercise before the presentation of the annual budget on
March 17.
The
data suggests an increase of nearly 14 per cent in collections
from VAT for January 2008. Before December last, VAT collections
were growing at about 7 per cent against the Budget estimate of
25 per cent. December, when VAT touched nearly 25 per cent, was
by far the most fruitful.
Sour
