Increase sales tax exemption limit in GST: Beopar mandal

With Finance Minister Manpreet Badal announcing that the goods service tax (GST) will be implemented from April 2011,the Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal held a state-level meeting here on Sunday and decided to request the government that the exemption limit of sale tax in GST be enhanced from the present Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. They said while industrialists with a sales turnover of Rs 10 lakh to 1.5 crore should be charged only state GST,those with a turnover of more than Rs 1.5 crore could be asked to pay both state and Central GST.

“At the same time,they should not make any further changes in the VAT Act. They have already implemented 10 per cent surcharge on VAT from February. The tax as such has been revised from 4 per cent to 5 per cent,which is not justified,” said Mohinder Aggarwal,state secretary of the body.

All 28 units of beopar mandal have now decided to organse a ‘maha sammelan’ in September against the SAD-BJP government as they are feeling “cheated”. Sunil Mehra,state general secretary and former BJP councillor,said: “The government had promised to reduce VAT from 4 per cent to 1 per cent on pulses,but nothing has been done. Even C-forms are not available,but the excise and taxation department has made it mandatory that VAT refund will not be given until these forms are submitted.”