ROLLBACK e-TRIP System- CICU

Ludhiana, August 3, 2013: Avtar Singh, General Secretary, Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings (CICU), Ludhiana in a statement released today said that sudden implementation of e- TRIP system of tax collection was posing problems to traders and industrialists.

He added this is highly uncalled for and derogative step which is anti-trade and industry. The state government failed to take traders and industrialists into confidence before implementing new system. This system is not applicable in the adjoining states of HP, Haryana, Uttaranchal and Rajasthan, as a result Punjab state is likely to face shortage of raw material and sale of finished goods will also be affected adversely.

Upkar Singh Ahuja Joint Secretary CICU said that as far as goods being sent outside state are concerned, the e-TRIP is the same as E-ICC which is already being done by dealers/transporters.  Moreover, Excise and Taxation Department is already conducting four-stage verification of documents and regular raids, then where is the need for E-TRIP.  This system will not add to state revenue but encourage corrupt practices, he remarked. Computer hacking is on the increase and matching solution to such crime is lagging far behind in this new system. After e-billing tripping many contingences can arise, which may take longtime to set them right, he added. This can violate the requirement of the e-billing which will put the traders in great trouble. More over small traders and industrialists are especially not aware of online process so they need to be acquainted with it properly. He has requested Punjab Government to raise the lower limit for reporting transactions from Rs. 50,000 to earlier limit of Rs. 3,00,000.

Amidst stiff opposition from trade and industry, both of them have appealed and urged upon Sukhbir Singh Badal, Deputy Chief Minister, Punjab and said that more revenue is already being collected by Central Excise than that of State Excise. “So, please do not to use such types of harsh measures and rollback E-TRIP System permanently instead of extending its implementation to August 2013”, they asserted.