Paper traders want UP to adopt VAT, ask for paper import policy
Vishal Sharma
New Delhi/ Agra. Paper traders have decided to press UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav to adopt VAT in the state and ask for a stringent policy on the import of foreign paper into the country.
Almost 400 paper traders from all over the country got together in Agra for three days to discuss the consequenses of doing business in UP, where value-added tax (VAT) is not in force. A conference on this had been organised by Assocham and the Federation of Paper Traders Association during August 13-15.
Addressing this conference, Dasgupta said the states where VAT had been introduced had experienced a 26 per cent increase in their revenue in the past three months alone while the annual growth of revenue for the states was in the tune of 12 per cent.
He said even Tamil Nadu had given its assurance to implement VAT from January 1, 2007 and by not adapting VAT, UP was creating problems in establishing a uniform tax structure in the country.
Talking to Business Standard later, President Agra Kagaz Vyapar Mandal Vijay Bansal said when the entire country had adapted VAT, it was not prudent for UP to stay away from it as it would unnecessarily create problems for the traders of the state and would not allow the slow withdrawal of Central Sales Tax.
He said the traders had send a petition before the UP Chief Minister to allow the state’s transition into VAT by the next financial year to create a uniformity in the tax structure around the country.
According to Bansal, the import of foreign paper under false pretexts by unscrupulous importers was another major problem that the paper traders of the country were facing.
In this context, he said a decision was reached in the conference to petition the Union government to rationalise the tax and subsidy structure on imported paper in such a manner that instead of granting a direct subsidy on the imported paper, especially the paper declared as newsprint, actual use of the paper was ascertained before the tax subsidy was granted as a refund.
Bansal said recently, it was being observed that the large paper mills had taken up to deal directly with the large multinational clients instead of going through the traders and a proposal was brought before the federation chairman in the conference to ask the paper mills not to bypass the usual market channels.
A demand was also raised before the Union government to reduce the import duty on paper raw material from the present 25 per cent to 0-5 per cent while also reducing the excise duty on paper from 12.5 per cent to 78 per cent, he said.
Almost 400 paper traders from all over the country got together in Agra for three days to discuss the consequenses of doing business in UP, where value-added tax (VAT) is not in force. A conference on this had been organised by Assocham and the Federation of Paper Traders Association during August 13-15.
Addressing this conference, Dasgupta said the states where VAT had been introduced had experienced a 26 per cent increase in their revenue in the past three months alone while the annual growth of revenue for the states was in the tune of 12 per cent.
He said even Tamil Nadu had given its assurance to implement VAT from January 1, 2007 and by not adapting VAT, UP was creating problems in establishing a uniform tax structure in the country.
Talking to Business Standard later, President Agra Kagaz Vyapar Mandal Vijay Bansal said when the entire country had adapted VAT, it was not prudent for UP to stay away from it as it would unnecessarily create problems for the traders of the state and would not allow the slow withdrawal of Central Sales Tax.
He said the traders had send a petition before the UP Chief Minister to allow the state’s transition into VAT by the next financial year to create a uniformity in the tax structure around the country.
According to Bansal, the import of foreign paper under false pretexts by unscrupulous importers was another major problem that the paper traders of the country were facing.
In this context, he said a decision was reached in the conference to petition the Union government to rationalise the tax and subsidy structure on imported paper in such a manner that instead of granting a direct subsidy on the imported paper, especially the paper declared as newsprint, actual use of the paper was ascertained before the tax subsidy was granted as a refund.
Bansal said recently, it was being observed that the large paper mills had taken up to deal directly with the large multinational clients instead of going through the traders and a proposal was brought before the federation chairman in the conference to ask the paper mills not to bypass the usual market channels.
A demand was also raised before the Union government to reduce the import duty on paper raw material from the present 25 per cent to 0-5 per cent while also reducing the excise duty on paper from 12.5 per cent to 78 per cent, he said.
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