Karnataka - Mangalore   

`Entry tax introduced at the behest of traders'

Staff Correspondent

MANGALORE: The special entry tax has been introduced by the Government at the behest of traders, Commissioner for Commercial Tax P. Ravikumar has said. "It is not a revenue-earning measure but a countervailing duty," he clarified while participating in an interaction organised by the Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry here on Monday.

To a question regarding pending assessments under the KTEG Act, he said the department wanted to close all deemed assessments. "We intend to close all transitional offices by the end of August, which is our deadline. The department staff, who will be free once this happens, will be redeployed in areas where their need is felt, including to man Value-Added Tax (VAT) help-desks in offices of the Joint Commissioners," he said.

Check-posts

Admitting that sales tax check-posts were also an aberration in the VAT regime, Mr. Ravikumar said the department had already closed check-posts at Mukka and Kannur in Mangalore zone. A check-post at Shiroor in Udupi district would be closed shortly. "We will retain only the check-posts at Talapady bordering Kerala and Perambady bordering Kodagu district for administrative reasons." Taking cognisance of the shortage of `C' forms, he said the department was looking into the issue. "We have given a contract to Three I Infotech, Mumbai, subsidiary of ICICI Bank, to put in place a workable system. With this, traders can book orders for goods online and obtain a clearance from the supplier and produce the receipt for our perusal," he said.

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