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The
UP Chemists and Druggists Federation (UPCDF) has also
warned of a UP ‘bandh’ after 15 days, if the state
government does not reverse its “illogical” decision.
There
are about 1,800 retail and 800 wholesale medicine shops in
Lucknow district, which observed the ‘bandh’.
According
to a rough estimate, business worth Rs 35-40 crore could
not be transacted due to the closure, while the people
faced a tough time.
About
500 medicine traders also took out a march in the state
capital to register their protest and submitted a
memorandum to the state government, demanding immediate
roll back of the VAT hike.
The
Federation reiterated that the hike would encourage
smuggling of surgical items from the neighbouring states
of Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Uttarakhand.
All
other states have uniform VAT of 4 per cent on surgical
items except UP. This hike will result in smuggling of
over Rs 60 crore worth of surgical items per month into
the state, Federation general secretary Suresh Gupta said.
Due
to the smuggling, the state government revenue collection
will also suffer substantially, he added.
The
Federation had recently met senior officials of the state
tax department and urged for the VAT roll back.
Source
: Business Standard - Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, dated
09/10/2008
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