Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal is set to work out the modalities of industrial growth in the State with State’s industrialists.
A special meeting, between the Deputy Chief Minister and a delegation of industrialists, has been convened on July 30 primarily to listen to the grievances of the business community. The issues related to e-trip system, unscheduled power cuts, delay in refunds of the value added tax (VAT), among others is to be taken up for discussion during the meeting.
Opposing tooth and nail the State Government’s decision to implement e-trip (Transportation Information within Punjab) system, the traders and industrialists had held series of protests and even threatened to intensify their agitation against the State Government. They are of the view that neither the State Government nor the traders were in a position to implement the e-trip system, while maintaining that it would hit the small and tiny sector hard as it would not be able to comply with its conditions, and give undue harass to them.
Notwithstanding several rounds of persuasion, and talks highlighting “problems faced by traders”, Sukhbir, in no unclear terms, had indicated that the State Government would go ahead with implementing the system. However, by convening July 30 meeting, Sukhbir has apparently given one last chance to the trading community to plead their case seeking some relief. With an aim of mopping up an additional revenue of Rs 200 crore annually, the State Government has decided to implement the e-trip system through which details of
goods’ movement amounting to Rs 50,000 or more can be entered on the Punjab Excise and Taxation Department’s website generating an acknowledgement slip in return, facilitating smooth intra-State transportation of goods. In case, the acknowledgement slip does not accompany the goods, the owner would become liable for action. Only recently, the State Government has decided to cover six more items — cotton, sarson (mustard), plywood, iron and steel (excluding scrap), yarn and vegetable oil (edible and non-edible) — under the system.
On the other hand, Punjab Excise and Taxation Commissioner Anurag Verma on Thursday maintained that the trade and industry is opposing the implementation of e-Trip system as this is an “anti-tax evasion” measure that will curb any practice of under-invoicing or bogus billing. “Tax evasion is getting caught now with e-Trip system, and that is why they are opposing it…The department has brought only those commodities under e-Trip system where tax evasion is higher,” said Verma. Stating that e-Trip system will bring in a level playing field, he said that only 5,000 to 6,000 registered units and dealers will be covered under the system.
The industrialists are also ruing over the inordinate delay in getting the outstanding VAT refund of more than Rs 600 crore. The long-pending issue of four-stage verification for the VAT refund on account of exports outside the State would also be raised by the industrialists. Their demand is to do away with the submission of C-forms related to the record of inter-State business transactions.
Till 2005, the taxation department was paying VAT refund without C-form, but in 2009, C-form was made mandatory resulting in delay of getting the VAT refund in the absence of C-forms. It has also been learnt that the traders are annoyed as the State Government has failed to implement its own decision of giving the VAT refund in 60 days of application, as mentioned its industrial policy. In addition, the industrialists are also demanding to reduce the imposition of three-day off for general industry and four-day off for induction furnaces by the Punjab State Power Corporation limited (PSPCl).
It may be pointed out that the traders’ association had invited four MlAs — local Bodies Minister Bhagat Chunni lal, former minister Manoranjan Kalia, CPS for Cooperation KD Bhandari and Pargat Singh — to their meeting on July 22 in Jalandhar to apprise them about their problems. But, only Bhandari turned up for the meeting, and he is reported to have played an instrumental role in arranging the meeting with Deputy Chief Minister.