JOINING HANDS: Traders and VAT Department to mobilise resources for generation of revenue

New Delhi, January 10, 2013: In a meeting,  the trade leaders of Delhi and VAT Department under a programme "Samvad" joined hands together to mobilise resources for generation of revenue and building a better atmosphere of business opportunities in Delhi.

VAT Commissioner Prashant Goyal alongwith senior Officials of VAT Department attended the meeting whereas about 125 leading trade leaders of more than 75 trade associations from different parts of Delhi attended the meeting.

The CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal was also present in the meeting chaired by Delhi State President of CAIT Narender Madan.

The trade leaders while appreciating the concern of the Department for generation of revenue spelled out number of difficulties being faced by them in conducting smooth business operations in Delhi. They said that the traders are facing hardships in obtaining refund from the Department which result into blockage of capital of traders with the Department. They also said that though Delhi VAT Department is prompt to get the assessment of the cases done but since the other states are not delivering C Forms to their respective dealers, the Delhi dealers cannot cope up with the speed of assessment in Delhi. They also drew the attention of the Department towards the cases of harassment at the hands of survey teams for which they demanded a within line guidelines for the survey.

The trade leaders also talked about absence of any grievance redressal cell and accordingly demanded that one of the senior official of the Department may be designated as " Nodal Officer" to be assisted by a team of expert Chartered Accountants as "Nodal Team" to help the traders and to offer right interpretation of the law. They also demanded that Zonal level Committees with respective trade associations may be formed and work actively.

VAT Commissioner Prashant Goyal while giving a patient hearing to the suggestions of the traders said that the VAT Department in Delhi is committed to provide best business environment in Delhi as it will boost the revenue accrued from the VAT collection. He assured the traders that their genuine difficulties will be taken care of and remedial measures will be taken to make sure that traders must not face any hardship. Appealing the traders to lend cooperative hand to the Department for meeting the target of revenue which is very short in comparison to last year, He also sought help of the traders in widening the tax base and a check on the illegal entry of goods in Delhi.