UP bandh on New Year to protest VAT

Lucknow, Dec 28 (UNI) Traders Association have called for a Uttar Pradesh bandh on the New Year to oppose the Value Added Tax(VAT) regime to be enforced in the state from next month.

The Tranport Associations of the state had already announced an indefinte strike from January 1 in protest against the implementation of VAT.

Announcing the Uttar Pradesh bandh on January one, Uttar Pradesh Udoyog Vyapar Pratinidih Mandal president and Rajya Sabha member Banwari Lal Kanchal said the traders have no other option left but to go on strike as the government was not interested in hearing the plea of the traders.

''We only want that the UP government rationalise the taxes under the new system at par with other adjoining states'', Mr Kanchal said.

Alleging that the Mayawati government was not concerned about the problems of the traders, he claimed that the new tax regime would severely hit the leather, foodgrain and garment industries in the state as the rate of taxes in other adjoining states were much less than that proposed in UP.

''Whereas UP government has imposed taxes on garments, foodgrains and leather, in Delhi and some other adjoining states, VAT tax have been waived off on these products'', he further added.

He said during the state wide bandh, traders would bring out procession and demonstrate in front of all the sales tax offices.

The traders affliated to the Mandal today continued their four-day long hunger strike to protest VAT.

The agitation is being held in front of the Vidhan Sabha precincts, where traders observed hunger strike for the third day to oppose the new tax system which they term ''anti-trader''.The agitation will end tomorrow.

Traders of several districts in Uttar Pradesh also observed hunger strike and they would continue to do so till the end of this month.

Meanwhile, the agitating transporters said they would go on indefinite strike from January one and not ply trucks or buses in the state till the present VAT structure was amended.

Under the new tax regime, transporters have been identified as dealers in the business of transport and they will have to submit Form 14 to 21 and keep all the details of their business for eight years.

They were also claiming that VAT imposed in 22 other states of the country had kept transporters out of the purview of the new tax system.

UNI