Traders launch stir against Delhi VAT Department

New Delhi, March 11, 2014: The Delhi traders after deeply disgusted with functioning of VAT Department has now decided to launch a stir against Delhi VAT Department for its various recent notifications which has led to gross resentment in the business community. At a meeting of Delhi traders held today at Town Hall, Chandni Chowk, Delhi, the trade leaders strongly condemned the attitude of VAT Department towards traders and lamented that several pending issues of the traders remain unsolved till date and now traders have left with no other alternative but to launch a direct agitation against VAT Department.
To launch their agitation against VAT issues the Delhi traders will hold a protest dharna on March 12 from 10.30 a.m. to 1p.m. at Town Hall, Ghantaghar, Chandni Chowk and will place keys of their shops as a mark of protest. The traders may also go for a Delhi Bandh and other democratic agitation tools-said Shri Ramesh Khanna and Shri Suresh Bindal
In a recent notification, the VAT Department has enforced Form T-2 w.e.f March 15 in Delhi according to which prior to entry of any goods in Delhi, the traders are liable to provide online information of such goods to VAT Department otherwise the goods will not be entered in Delhi. In a public notice issued by the Department, kit has been made mandatory for the traders to keep Account Books of seven years at principle place of business failing which the traders will be subject to penalty and even imprisonment.
The meeting was attended by prominent trade leaders of Delhi including Praveen Khandelwal, Narendra Madan, Ramesh Khanna, Suresh Bindal, Sushil Goyal, Vijay Gupta, Dev Raj Baweja, Satendra Jain, Shankar Lal Agrawal, Udhav Sharda, Ajay Sharma, Rajeev Batra, Ram Lal, Naresh Sambhar, Vipin Ahuja, Omprakash Goyal, Sanjeev Mehra, Sushil Kumar, Harish Sachhar etc. beside trade leaders of more than 150 trade associations of different parts of Delhi.
The traders at the meeting lamented that since last many years the traders are cooperating with Department which has resulted into great enhancement of revenue .The traders are spending lot of money in collection of taxes for the Government but instead of appreciating the gesture the Department is more eager to contemplate new policies and notices for victimising the traders. Issues like speedy refunds of the traders, information submitted by the traders online to Department often are missing, higher tax rate on several commodities in Delhi is transferring Delhi trade to other states have never been on priority of the Department which is causing great difficulties to traders and under the guise of notifications, the Department officials leave no stone unturned in harassing the traders.
The traders said that earlier also Form T-2 was enforced by Delhi Government but stiff resistant from traders and practical difficulties prevailed upon the then Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit who then withdrew enforcement of Form T-2. At a time when there is no elected Government in Delhi, the enforcement of Form T-2 is illogical, arbitrary and cannot be justified. On the other hand the traders posed a question to Department whether it is feasible for VAT Department or any other Government Department to keep books of seven years at one go.
The traders regretted that the trading community is being painted as  tax evaders which is not true. They sought from the Department what action has been taken on about 80 officials who were caught red handed by a private news channel in a sting operation a year back. It is prudent that the Department instead of contemplating new schemes to put traders into load of paper work should focus itself to revamp the functioning the Department.