Other States - Rajasthan   

CII seeks amendments to Rajasthan VAT Act

JAIPUR: The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in a pre-Budget memorandum to the Rajasthan Government has sought amendments to the Rajasthan Value Added Tax Act, 2003, to change the definition of “manufacturing” and “capital goods” and to suit the growth of the labour-oriented mining industry in the State.

There is a strong need for a new Industrial Policy and tourism should be accorded the full-fledged status of industry, it said. The wish list, presented to the State Government, suggested that Entry Tax should be either abolished or made VAT-able. The Government should facilitate tapping of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy, the memorandum said, recommending industry status for tourism and introduction of a new Hotel Policy.

It outlined the thrust areas for the State as mining, tourism, agriculture, handicrafts, textiles, gem and jewellery. Land should be provided on lease at concessional rates for constructing hotels as done in the case of industry, and emphasis should be on middle class /economy class hotels (3 stars), it said. Studies had shown that tourists coming from foreign countries were more from middle and upper middle classes who preferred to stay at clean economy class hotels. Promoting Private-Public Partnership would give a new impetus to the overall growth tourism sector, the memorandum said.

In order to attract large industrial units in the State, a separate fast track cell with powers to take decisions on clearances for various departments should be set up immediately with a time-bound response from them, it said. “It can be created under the chairmanship of the Minister for Industries or the Chief Secretary,” it added.

CII Rajasthan chairman R. K. Poddar said the CII members had met Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje a few days back with a draft of the New Industrial Policy for the State. “There is a felt need for introduction of a new Industrial Policy at the earliest and we had suggested to the Chief Minister to announce it before the next Budget,” Mr. Poddar said.

He said the CII agenda called for a thrust to contract farming and educating the farming community on the benefits of this activity. Consolidation of farmlands on the pattern of Punjab and developing the State-owned farms into model farms under PPP are also recommended, he informed.

Kishore Khaitan, convenor of the CII Panel on Economic Affairs, said the memorandum asked the Government to expand the scope of crop insurance from the existing six to more crops and to encourage setting up of poly-houses and greenhouses. Labour laws should be based on the number of employees and solid waste disposal of industries should be charged and service should be provided by the municipality concerned or the Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation through private contractors.

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

Stories in this Section

CII seeks amendments to Rajasthan VAT Act

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu