The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : State VAT rules released

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Feb 22, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

State VAT rules released

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, FEB. 21. The State Government on Monday sought to dispel fears in the minds of traders that keeping normal stock of goods until March 31 would mean losing on tax relief, once the Value Added Tax regime came into force from April 1, 2005.

The Principal Secretary, Revenue, N.S. Hariharan, released a volume of the APVAT Ordinance and Rules, complete with forms, leaflets and illustrations to help traders understand the rules. He said there were apprehensions among traders that they would get less relief than they should in cases where the VAT rate on any commodity was less than the AP General Sales Tax (APGST) rate.

He said for example, drugs and medicines now taxed at 10 per cent would go into the 4 per cent category in VAT. Likewise, cement was going from 16.5 to 12.5 per cent under VAT. In both cases, there was the likelihood of traders tending to stop purchases this month and the next because VAT would come into effect from April 1. The APGST paid would be returned proportionately on the goods found in stock on April 1.

Anyone who needed more information could access the website apcommercialtaxes.gov.in and then approach the VAT Counselling Centres set up in the State capital and all district headquarters. If they still had doubts, they could always contact senior officials, Mr. Hariharan said.

The Centre had released Rs. 1.3 crores for publicity and to create taxpayer awareness much ahead of the implementation, the Commissioner, Commercial Taxes, V. Bhaskar, said. Hence, publicity material in the form of pamphlets, booklets, posters and books would be distributed free of cost to the traders, he said.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh