Haryana Industry Seeks To Rationalise Taxation

Chandigarh: Industry chambers in Haryana want the finance minister to reduce taxes in the budget for 2008-09. Finance Minister Birender Singh is likely to present the budget on March 7. Haryana is the pioneer in introducing the value-added tax (VAT) in India in 2004. Under VAT, the central sales tax was to be reduced every year by one percentage point. The traders and industrialists want the exemption limit of the Sales Tax Form 38 to be raised from Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000 to equalise the effect of CST. Members of the Haryana Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that the procedure of VAT refund needed to be streamlined because during scrutiny by the department concerned it was often learnt that the VAT was not deposited in time by the sellers.