Drug traders in Jharkhand to go on indefinite strike

Ranchi, Apr 3 (UNI) About 15,000 drug traders across Jharkhand will go on an indefinite strike from April 17 in protest against implimentation of Value Added Tax (VAT).

The Jharkhand Chemists and Druggist Association (JCDA) has demanded multiple points on drugs instead of VAT and only on the maximum retail price (MRP).

The decision for the agitation was taken by the JCDA at an emergency meeting held here recently, a spokesperson of the JCDA said today.

The VAT regime in Jharkhand came into force from April first, 2006.

The spokesman said West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Maharastra, Karnataka, Asom, Tripura, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh were charging VAT on MRP.

The JCDA demanded the similar facility because the drug prices should be uniform throughout the country..

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