Apex court rejects petition,traders to continue stir

The bandh evoked a mixed response on the first two days and saw a lot many shops and marketyards being shut on Friday.

Chavan,addressing the media on Friday,stated that opposition to LBT is based on misinformation. He defended LBT saying it was a necessary economic reform.

“Octroi is an outdated tax and all states have phased it out. The state government had taken the decision to implement LBT from 2009 and the last five municipal corporations were to implement LBT from April 1,2013. We held numerous meetings with various traders organizations to ensure misconception about LBT are removed. The decision of traders is unfortunate and we hope they would withdraw the strike soon,” he said.

Commenting on the demand of traders to levy surcharge on value added tax (VAT),Chavan stated that would be a retrogressive step. “By the 74th Constitutional amendment,local self government bodies are allowed to generate revenue for themselves. VAT is a tax levied by the state government and in case we decide to levy surcharge on VAT the money would come to state government and not to local self government bodies. Also,surcharge on VAT would result in a lot of financial complexities and is not feasible,” he stated.

When asked about the opposition to LBT from various political parties,Chavan stated that the decision was taken by the then coalition government. “My appeal to political parties is not to politicise the issue,” he said.

Asking traders not to hold people hostage,he hoped the issue would be resolved amicably. “We can invoke the Maintenance of Essential Commodities Act,but we do not want to,” he stated.