Punjab Government is all set to come out with another policy - VAT (value added tax) refund policy.
“Under the new VAT Refund policy of Punjab Government, the disbursement of VAT refunds would be started soon as per the categories A, B and C earmarked under this policy,” said the Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal while responding to the query on delay in paying VAT refund.
Sukhbir said that the assessments for VAT refunds were on the verge of completion, and it would be completed within a short span of time.
Owing to the financial crunch, the state government has failed to refund nearly Rs 300 crore collected as VAT from industrialists in the state for the past several months.
In 2012, Punjab government had decided to introduce online payment of VAT refunds from April 1, 2013, to bring transparency and expedite the process of refunds - though nothing actually has been done so far. It was decided that dedicated corpus of Rs 150 crore will be created in the Excise and Taxation Department to ensure hassle-free refunds, which will be replenished every month as per withdrawal.