In the Budget presented in the State Assembly on Wednesday, the State Government has reduced value added tax (VAT) on 40 items from 13 per cent to 5 per cent.
Interestingly, these items include ivory bangles and audio cassette and audio tape recorders and calculators and a rare herb bramhi, nitrogen, helium and organ gas besides baby diapers, battery operated cars and rickshaws, gas geysers, school bags, calculators, gas stoves, locks and keys, ladies bags, purses and vanity bags, induction stoves and aluminium composite panels.
More interestingly, aviation gas has also brought under 4 per cent VAT slab from existing 13 per cent to promote aviation industry in the state. Bicycles, tricycles and rickshaw and accessories like tyres, tubes will also be exempted from 5 per cent value added tax and 1 per cent entry tax. To make his party”s slogan “Make in Madhya Pradesh” real, the Finance minister has raised value added tax (VAT) exemption limit on home-made slippers and shoes provided their prices are not more than Rs500.
Also school exercise books, notebooks, drawing books and laboratory notebooks are also now exempted from taxes. “I have tried to strike a balance in allocating budget to infrastructure sector, social sector, health and education,” Malaiya said. De-oiled cake, cotton-seed oil cake, mustard oil cake will now attracts 1 per cent value added tax. The finance minister has also raised tax rate by 1 per cent on as many as 160 items defined in scheduled-II, which attracts 13 per cent value added tax, besides 1 per cent increase in stock transfer activities.
Further, natural gas and compressed natural gas will now attract 10 per cent entry tax. So far the items were exempted from any tax. Sale and purchase of low income group residential unit will be exempted. Any kind of agreement between media like radio television or newspaper will now attract 0.25 per cent stamp duty of the total taxable amount, which will be in range of Rs500 and Rs25,000.