Uttar Pradesh -  traders oppose VAT decision

Traders in Uttar Pradesh are still not ready to accept the Mayawati government's decision to implement the value-added tax (VAT) regime with many organisations staging protests on Saturday.

The opposition Samajwadi Party-backed Uttar Pradesh Udyog Vyapar Mandal led by the party's Lok Sabha member Banwari Lal Kanchal staged a protest demonstration and burnt an effigy of the chief minister in Lucknow on Saturday.

Its rival body led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) turned Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Sandeep Bansal also expressed resentment against the move.

A BJP-backed traders' organisation also staged demonstrations in Kanpur and has threatened to hold protests in other parts of the state as well.

It was the virtually united opposition to the new tax regime that had compelled the Mayawati government repeatedly defer the issue.

Eventually, under repeated pressure from the central government that had laid down a deadline for introduction of VAT across all states, the state cabinet did give a formal nod to it on Friday.

"We are still on tenterhooks," remarked Kanchal. "We have always maintained that VAT will spell doom for the traders and would also not benefit consumers in any manner," he said.

"We will continue to oppose it tooth and nail," he declared.

Interests of traders

Hesitant to comment directly because of his affiliation with BSP, Bansal pleaded: "We have been pushing for certain amendments, not only in the larger interest of traders but also with a view to curbing corruption.

"We have also prepared a 25-point charter which we propose to submit to the chief minister shortly and I am sure she will not disappoint the traders."

"It is because she (Mayawati) is considerate about the interests of traders that she has kept the ultimate key to VAT implementation with herself," Bansal added.

Meanwhile, industry representatives have also expressed their apprehensions about VAT in its existing form.

PHDCCI state spokesman Anil Shukla maintained: "We have already raised objections against continuation of entry tax after implementation of VAT, but the state government has not paid heed to our request. The government must do away with entry tax once it implements VAT."

The Indian Industries Association too has submitted a memorandum to the Trade Tax Commissioner suggesting suitable amendments in the framework of rules and procedures and relaxation of certain stringent laws under the prevailing Trade Tax Act.