The Federation of All Odisha Traders' Associations (FAOTA) has hailed the State Cabinet’s decision of lowering the value added tax (VAT) on pulses from the existing 5 per cent to 1 per cent and at the same time urged the people adopt bargaining method to get the pulses at the actual rate.
With the VAT slashed by 4 per cent, the common man is expected to benefit by Rs 5 a kg. “It is being alleged that the traders and retailers will not sale pulses in the old rate since the completion of old stocks which are being purchased in old rates. Here, I want to appeal to the customers/common people to adopt bargaining system so that they can get the product at a reasonable price,” FAOTA general secretary Sudhakar Panda told reporters here on Thursday.
He said the wholesale price for arhar dal is Rs 123 a kg while the retail price is Rs 128 a kg.
Hailing that that the Government has reposed faith in them, Pandia said the Government is now getting around Rs 3 crore per month towards VAT on dal.
“We will gift the Government Rs 5 crore as tax in the first month itself," he said.
The traders had assured the Government that the revenue income from dal would go up to around Rs 60 crore per annum from the existing Rs 39 crore if VAT was revised.