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White
Paper On State-Level Value
Added Tax
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This White Paper on State-level
Value Added Tax
(VAT) is presented in three parts. To begin with, the justification of VAT
and its background have been mentioned (Part 1). In Part 2, the main design of VAT,as evolved on the basis of a consensus among the States through repeated discussions in the Empowered Committee, has been elaborated. While doing so, it is recognized that this VAT is a State subject and therefore the States will have freedom for appropriate variations consistent with the basic design as agreed upon at the Empowered Committee. Finally, in Part 3, the other related
issues have been discussed for effective implementation of VAT. |
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1. Justification of VAT and Background 1.1 In the existing sales tax
structure, there are problems of double taxation of commodities and
multiplicity of taxes, resulting in a cascading tax
burden. For instance, in the existing structure, before a commodity is
produced, inputs are first taxed, and then after the commodity
is produced with input tax load, output is
taxed again. This causes an unfair double taxation with cascading effects.
In the VAT, a set-off is given for input tax
as well as tax paid on previous purchases. In
the prevailing sales tax
structure, there is in several States also a multiplicity of taxes, such
as turnover tax, surcharge on sales tax,
additional surcharge, etc. With introduction of VAT, these other taxes
will be abolished. In addition, Central sales tax
is also going to be phased out. As a result, overall tax
burden will be rationalised, and prices in general will also fall.
Moreover, VAT will replace the existing system of inspection by a system
of built-in self-assessment by the dealers and auditing. The tax structure will become simple and more
transparent. That will improve tax compliance
and also augment revenue growth. Thus, to repeat, with the introduction of
VAT, benefits will be as follows: - a set-off will be given for input tax
as well as tax paid on previous purchases - other taxes, such as turnover tax,
surcharge, additional surcharge, etc. will be abolished - overall tax
burden will be rationalised - prices will in general fall - there will be self-assessment by dealers - transparency will increase - there will be higher revenue growth - The VAT will therefore help common
people, traders, industrialists and also the Government. - It is indeed a move towards more
efficiency, equal competition and fairness in the taxation system. |
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1.2 For these
beneficial effects, a full-fledged VAT was initiated first in Brazil in
mid 1960’s, then in European countries in 1970’s and subsequently
introduced in about 130 countries, including several federal countries. In
Asia, it has been introduced by a large number of countries from China to
Sri Lanka. Even in India, there has been a VAT
system introduced by the Government of India
for about last ten years in respect of 1.3 The first
preliminary discussion on State-level
VAT took place in a meeting of Chief Ministers convened by Dr. Manmohan
Singh, the then Union Finance Minister in 1995. In this meeting, the basic
issues on VAT were discussed in general terms and First, before the introduction of State-level
VAT, the unhealthy sales tax rate “war”
among the States would have to end and sales tax
rates would need to be harmonised by implementing uniform floor rates of
sales tax for different categories of
commodities with effect from January 1, 2000. Second, in the interest again of
harmonisation of incidence of sales tax, the
sales-tax-related industrial incentive schemes
would also have to be discontinued with effect from January 1, 2000. Third, on the basis of achievement of the
first two objectives, steps would be taken by the States for introduction
of State-level VAT
after adequate preparation. For implementing these decisions, an
Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers
was set-up. |
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1.4 Thereafter,
this Empowered Committee has met regularly, attended by the State
Finance Ministers, and also by the Finance Secretaries and the
Commissioners of Commercial Taxes of the State
Governments as well as senior officials of the Revenue Department of the
Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
Through repeated discussions and collective efforts in the Empowered
Committee, it was possible within a period of about a year and a half to
achieve nearly 98 per cent success in the first two objectives on
harmonisation of sales tax structure through
implementation of uniform floor rates of sales tax
and discontinuation of sales-tax- related
incentive schemes. As a part of regular monitoring, whenever any deviation
is reported from |
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1.5 After reaching
this stage, steps were initiated for systematic preparation for the
introduction of State-level
VAT. In order again to avoid any unhealthy competition among the States
which may lead to distortions in manufacturing and trade, attempts have
been made from the very beginning to harmonise the VAT design in the
States, keeping also in view the distinctive features of each State
and the need for federal flexibility. This has been done by the States
collectively agreeing, through repeated discussions in the Empowered
Committee, to certain common points of convergence regarding VAT, and
allowing at the same time certain flexibility for the local
characteristics of the States. |
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1.6 Along with
these measures at ensuring convergence on the basic issues on VAT, steps
have also been taken for necessary training, computerisation and
interaction with trade and industry, particularly at the State
levels. This interaction with trade and industry is being specially
emphasised. |
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1.7 It may be noted
that while such preparation was going on, the Chief Ministers of all the
States in an important meeting on State-level
VAT convened by the Prime Minister on October 18, 2002, when Shri Jaswant
Singh, the then Union Finance Minister was present, clearly stated their
intention of introducing VAT from April 1, 2003. About 29 States and Union
Territories had expeditiously sent their Bills to the Ministry of Finance, Government of India
for prior vetting. The Union Ministry of Finance had considered these
Bills of States and Union Territories, and sent their comments/
suggestions to the States and Union Territories in line with the decisions
of the Empowered Committee of the State
Finance Ministers for incorporating the same in VAT Bills to be placed in
the State legislatures and subsequent
transmission to the Government of India
for Presidential Assent. At this stage, there were certain developments
which delayed the introduction of VAT. Despite these developments, most of
the States remained positively interested in implementation of VAT. Madhya
Pradesh VAT Bill had already been accorded Presidential Assent in November
2002. One State, namely, Haryana, has already
introduced VAT on its own with good |
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2. Design of State-Level
VAT 2.1 As already
mentioned, the design of State-level
VAT has been worked out by the Empowered Committee through several rounds of
discussion and striking a federal balance between the common points of
convergence regarding VAT and flexibility for the local characteristics of the
States. Since the State-level
VAT is centred around the basic concept of “set-off” for the tax
paid earlier, the needed common points of convergence also relate to this
concept of set-off/input tax credit, its coverage
and related issues as elaborated below. Concept of VAT and Set-off / Input Tax
Credit 2.2 The essence of
VAT is in providing set-off for the tax paid
earlier, and this is given effect through the concept of input tax
credit/rebate. This input tax credit in relation to
any period means setting off the amount of input tax
by a registered dealer against the amount of his output tax.
The Value Added Tax
(VAT) is based on the value addition to the
goods, and the related VAT liability of the dealer is calculated by deducting
input tax credit from tax
collected on sales during the payment period (say, a month). If, for example,
input worth Rs. 1,00,000/- is purchased and sales are worth Rs. 2,00,000/- in a
month, and input tax rate and output tax
rate are 4% and 10% respectively, then input tax credit/set-off
and calculation of VAT will be as shown below: (a) Input purchased within the month : Rs.
1,00,000/- (b) Output sold in the month : Rs.
2,00,000/- (c) Input tax
paid : Rs.4,000/- (d) Output tax
payable : Rs. 20,000/- (e) VAT payable during the month : Rs.
16,000/- after set-off/input tax credit [(d) – (c)] Coverage of Set-Off / Input Tax
Credit 2.3 This input tax
credit will be given for both manufacturers and traders for purchase of
inputs/supplies meant for both sale within the State
as well as to other States, irrespective of when these will be utilised/sold.
This also reduces immediate tax liability. Even for stock transfer/consignment sale
of goods out of the State, input tax
paid in excess of 4% will be eligible for tax credit. Carrying Over of Tax
Credit 2.4 If the tax
credit exceeds the tax payable on sales in a month,
the excess credit will be carried over to the end of next financial year. If
there is any excess unadjusted input tax credit at
the end of second year, then the same will be eligible for refund. Input tax
credit on capital goods will also be available for traders and manufacturers. Tax
credit on capital goods may be adjusted over a maximum of 36 equal monthly
instalments. The States may at their option reduce this number of instalments. There will be a negative list for capital
goods (on the basis of principles already decided by the Empowered Committee)
not eligible for input tax credit. Treatment of Exports, etc. 2.5 For all exports
made out of the country, tax paid within the State
will be refunded in full, and this refund will be made within three months.
Units located in SEZ and EOU will be granted either exemption from payment of
input tax or refund of the input tax
paid within three months. Inputs Procured from Other States
2.6 Tax
paid on inputs procured from other States through inter-State
sale and stock transfer will not be eligible for credit. However, a decision has
been taken for duly phasing out of inter-State sales
tax or Central sales tax.
As a preparation for that, a comprehensive inter-State
tax information exchange system is also being
set up. Treatment of Opening Stock 2.7 All tax-paid
goods purchased on or after April 1, 2004 and still in stock as on April 1, 2005
will be eligible to receive input tax credit,
subject to submission of requisite documents. Resellers holding tax-paid
goods on April 1, 2005 will also be eligible. VAT will be levied on the goods
when sold on and after April 1, 2005 and input tax
credit will be given for the sales tax already paid
in the previous year. This tax credit will be
available over a period of 6 months after an interval of 3 months needed for verification. Compulsory Issue of Tax
Invoice, Cash Memo or Bill 2.8 This entire
design of VAT with input tax credit is crucially
based on documentation of tax invoice, cash memo or
bill. Every registered dealer, having turnover of sales above an amount
specified, shall issue to the purchaser serially numbered tax
invoice with the prescribed particulars. This tax
invoice will be signed and dated by the dealer or his regular employee, showing
the required particulars. The dealer shall keep a counterfoil or duplicate of such tax
invoice duly signed and dated. Failure to comply with the above will attract
penalty. Registration, Small Dealers and
Composition Scheme 2.9 Registration of
dealers with gross annual turnover above Rs. 5 lakh will be compulsory. There
will be provision for voluntary registration. All existing dealers will be
automatically registered under the VAT Act. A new dealer will be allowed 30 days time from the date of liability to get registered. Small dealers with gross annual turnover not exceeding Rs. 5 lakh will not be liable to pay VAT. States will have flexibility to fix threshold limit within Rs. 5 lakh. Small dealers with annual gross turnover not exceeding Rs. 50 lakh who are otherwise liable to pay VAT, shall however have the option for a composition scheme
with payment of tax at a small percentage of gross
turnover. The dealers opting for this composition scheme will not be entitled to
input tax credit. Tax
Payer’s Identification Number (TIN) 2.10 The Tax
Payer’s Identification Number will consist of 11digit numerals throughout the
country. First two characters will represent the State
Code as used by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. The set-up of the next nine
characters may, however, be different in different States. Return 2.11 Under
VAT,simplified form of returns will be notified. Returns are to be filed
monthly/quarterly as specified in the State Acts/Rules,
and will be accompanied with payment challans. Every return furnished by dealers
will be scrutinized expeditiously within prescribed time limit from the date of
filing the return. If any technical mistake is detected on scrutiny, the dealer
will be required to pay the deficit appropriately. Procedure of Self-Assessment of VAT
Liability 2.12 The basic
simplification in VAT is that VAT liability will be self-assessed by the dealers
themselves in terms of submission of returns upon setting off the tax
credit. Return forms as well as other procedures will be simple in all States. There will no longer be compulsory
assessment at the end of each year as is existing now. If no specific notice is
issued proposing departmental audit of the books of accounts of the dealer
within the time limit specified in the Act, the dealer will be deemed to have been self-assessed on
the basis of returns submitted by him. Because of the importance of the concept
of self-assessment in VAT, provision for “self-assessment” will be stated in
the VAT Bills of the States. Audit 2.13 Correctness of
self-assessment will be checked through a system of Departmental Audit. A
certain percentage of the dealers will be taken up for audit every year on a
scientific basis. If, however, evasion is detected on audit, the concerned
dealer may be taken up for audit for previous periods. This Audit Wing will
remain delinked from tax collection wing to remove
any bias. The audit team will conduct its work in a time bound manner and audit will be
completed within six months. The audit report will be transparently sent to the
dealer also. Simultaneously, a cross-checking,
computerised system is being worked out on the basis of coordination between the
tax authorities of the State
Governments and the authorities of Central Excise and Income Tax
to compare constantly the tax returns and set-off
documents of VAT system of the States and those of Central Excise and Income Tax.
This comprehensive cross-checking system will help reduce tax evasion and also lead to significant
growth of tax revenue. At the same time, by
protecting transparently the interests of tax-complying
dealers against the unfair practices of tax-evaders,
the system will also bring in more equal competition in the sphere of trade and
industry. Declaration Form 2.14 There will be no need for any
provision for concessional sale under the VAT Act since the provision for
set-off makes the input zero-rated. Hence, there will be no need for declaration
form, which will be a further relief for dealers. Incentives 2.15 Under the VAT
system, the existing incentive schemes may be continued in the manner deemed
appropriate by the States after ensuring that VAT chain is not affected. Other Taxes 2.16 As mentioned
earlier, all other existing taxes such as turnover tax,
surcharge, additional surcharge and Special Additional Tax
(SAT) would be abolished. There will not be any reference to these taxes in the
VAT Bills. The States that have already introduced entry tax
and intend to continue with this tax should make it
vatable. If not made vatable, entry tax will need to
be abolished. However, this will not apply to entry tax that
may be levied in lieu of octroi. Penal Provisions 2.17 Penal
provisions in the VAT Bills should not be more stringent than in the existing
Sales Tax Act. Coverage of Goods under VAT
2.18 In general, all
the goods, including declared goods will be covered under VAT and will get the
benefit of input tax credit. The only few goods which will be outside
VAT will be liquor, lottery tickets, petrol, diesel, aviation turbine fuel and
other motor spirit since their prices are not fully market determined. These
will continue to be taxed under the Sales Tax Act or
any other State Act or even by making special
provisions in the VAT Act itself, and with uniform floor rates decided by the
Empowered Committee. VAT Rates and Classification of
Commodities 2.19 Under the VAT
system covering about 550 goods, there will be only two basic VAT rates of 4%
and 12.5%, plus a specific category of tax-exempted
goods and a special VAT rate of 1% only for gold and silver ornaments, etc. Thus
the multiplicity of rates in the existing structure will be done away with under
the VAT system. Under exempted category, there will be
about 46 commodities comprising of natural and unprocessed products in
unorganized sector, items which are legally barred from taxation and items which
have social implications. Included in this exempted category is a set of maximum
of 10 commodities flexibly chosen by individual States from a list of goods (finalised
by the Empowered Committee) which are of local social importance for the individual States without having
any inter-state implication. The rest of the
commodities in the list will be common for all the States. Under 4% VAT rate
category, there will be the largest number of goods (about 270), common for all
the States, comprising of items of basic necessities such as medicines and
drugs, all agricultural and industrial inputs, capital goods and declared goods.
The schedule of commodities will be attached to the VAT Bill of every State.
The remaining commodities, common for all the States, will fall under the
general VAT rate of 12.5%. In terms of decision of the Empowered
Committee, VAT on AED items relating to sugar, textile and tobacco, because of
initial organisational difficulties, will not be imposed for one year after the
introduction of VAT, and till then the existing arrangement will continue. The
position will be reviewed after one year. Effects of the VAT System
2.20 This design of
the State-level VAT has
been carefully worked out by the Empowered Committee after repeated interactions
with the States and others concerned and striking a balance between the needed
convergence and federal flexibility as well as ground-level
reality. If now all the components of the VAT design are taken together, then it
will be seen that the total effect of this VAT system will be to rationalise the
tax burden and bring down, in general, the price level.
This will also stop unhealthy tax-rate “war” and
trade diversion among the States, which had adversely affected interests of all
the States in the past. Moreover, this VAT design will also significantly bring
in simplicity and transparency in the tax structure,
thereby improving tax-compliance
and eventually also the revenue growth, as mentioned in the beginning. 3. Steps Taken by the States 3.1 It is now of significance to note that
most of the States, after collective interaction in the Empowered Committee,
have either already modified or agreed to modify their VAT Bills by
incorporating these common points of convergence including flexibility as mentioned in the VAT design
above, and are also taking other preparatory steps towards introduction of VAT
from April 1, 2005. 3.2 As a part of the preparatory steps, the States have started the process of preparing the draft of VAT Rules, including Books of Accounts to be maintained. The objective will be to keep these as simple as possible so that it becomes easy for a small trader to comply with the requirements. 3.3 Moreover, the
States have initiated, and in many cases also completed, steps for
computerisation upto the levels of assessing officers and also at the check
posts. This process will continue since this is extremely important for
document-based verification and integration with Taxation Information Exchange
System as well as with information of the Central excise and income tax
systems as indicated earlier. 3.4 It may be
mentioned here that appropriate Central funds for VAT-related computerisation in
the North-Eastern States are also being released by the Government of India. 4. Related Issues 4.1 While the
States have thus taken several steps towards introduction of VAT, certain
supporting decisions were critically needed at the national level
for more effective implementation of VAT from April 1, 2005. 4.2 It needs to be
carefully noted that although introduction of VAT may, after a few years, lead
to revenue growth, there may be a loss of revenue in some States in the initial
years of transition. It is with this in view that the Government of India
had agreed to compensate for 100 per cent of the loss in the first year,
75 per cent of the loss in the second year and 50 per cent of the loss in the
third year of introduction of VAT, and the loss would be computed on the basis
of an agreed formula. This position has not only been reaffirmed by the Union
Finance Minister in his Budget Speech of 2004-05, but a concrete formula for
this compensation has also now been worked out after interaction between the
Union Finance Minister and the Empowered Committee. 4.3 As mentioned
earlier, there is also a need, after introduction of VAT, for phasing out of
Central Sales Tax (CST). However, the States are now
collecting nearly Rs. 15,000 crore every year from CST. There is accordingly a
need of compensation from the Government of India for
this loss of revenue as CST is phased out. Moreover, while CST is phased out, there is also a
critical need for putting in place a regulatory frame-work in terms of Taxation
Information Exchange System to give a comprehensive picture of inter-State
trade of all commodities. As mentioned, this process of setting up of Taxation
Information Exchange System has already been started by the Empowered Committee,
and is expected to be completed within 1 year. The position regarding CST will be
reviewed by the Empowered Committee during 2005-06, and suitable decision on the
phasing out of CST will be taken. 4.4 It is also
essential to bring imports into the VAT chain. Because of the set-off, this will
not result in any tax cascading effect, but will
only improve tax compliance. A proposal for VAT on imports, including
the collection mechanism with adequate safeguards for the protection of interest
of land-locked States, is being discussed with the Government of India. 4.5 Similarly,
discussion between the Empowered Committee and the Government of India
is going on for an early decision on the question of collection and
appropriation of service tax by the Centre and the
States. If decisions on VAT on imports and service
tax are taken expeditiously at the national level,
then these two important spheres of taxation can be integrated, along with the
AED items as mentioned earlier, into the VAT system of the States from the
second year of introduction of VAT. 4.6 It may be noted
that this VAT design has been worked out carefully by the Empowered Committee to
strike a balance not only between the common points of convergence and federal
flexibility, but also a balance between what can be done to begin with and what
should be incorporated subsequently for further perfection of the VAT system. 4.7 For successful
implementation of State-level
VAT,close interaction with trade and industry is specially important. The
Empowered Committee has therefore also set up a Consultative Committee with one
representative from each of the national level trade
organisations and national level chambers of
commerce and industry. This Committee has already started interacting with the
Empowered Committee. This process of interaction will continue regularly to
discuss issues and sort out problems of implementation of VAT. Such Consultative
Committees will also be set up at the level of each State,
and interaction with the State Government will take
place in a 4.8 In course of discussion with
representatives of trade and industry, reference has often been made to the
earlier VAT Bills of some of the States. It should be clearly noted, as already
mentioned before, that all the States have agreed to amend their It should also be mentioned that there are
some important points on the ground-level
implementation of VAT which have been raised by the representatives of trade and
industry. Many of the points will be taken care of in the VAT rules of the
States, with 4.9 Finally, a
comprehensive campaign on State-level
will be launched to communicate in simple and transparent manner the benefit of
VAT for common people, traders, industrialists and also the State
Governments. This campaign will then be launched first at the national level
on the basis of necessary coordination between the States and the Centre. This
will then be simultaneously followed up at the level
of every State and also in districts of the States.
This campaign will be based on written materials as well as publicity through
all media. The purpose of this campaign will be a two-way interaction between
the Government and the trade and industry as well as the common people. There is now only looking forward to the
introduction of State-level
VAT by all the States and Union Territories from April 1, 2005. We seek
cooperation of all sections of people in the country. PREFACEThis White Paper is a result of collective
efforts of all the States in formulating the basic design of the
State-level
Value Added Tax
(VAT) through repeated and candid discussions in the Empowered Committee of State
Finance Ministers. The State-level
VAT, as elaborated in this White Paper, has certain distinct advantages over the
existing sales tax structure. The VAT will not only
provide full set-off for input tax as well as tax
on previous purchases, but it will also abolish the burden of several of the
existing taxes, such as turnover tax, surcharge on
sales tax, additional surcharge, special additional tax,
etc. In addition, Central Sales Tax is also going to
be phased out. As a result, the overall tax burden
will be rationalised, and prices, in general, will fall. Moreover, VAT will
replace the existing system of inspection by a system of built-in
self-assessment by traders and manufacturers. The tax
structure will become simple and more transparent. This will significantly
improve tax compliance and will also help increase
revenue growth. While this State-level
VAT has all these advantages, it is a State subject
derived from Entry 54 of the State List, for which
the States are sovereign in taking decisions. On these decisions on VAT, the
States, through discussion in the Empowered Committee, have found it in their
interests, to avoid unhealthy competition and have certain features of VAT to be
common for all the States. These features will constitute the basic design of
VAT. At the same time, the States will have freedom for appropriate variations
consistent with this basic design. This White Paper is a collective attempt of
the States to strike a balance between this needed commonality and the desired
federal flexibility in the VAT structure. The White Paper also strikes a balance
between what is possible in the VAT design to begine with and what can be
improved upon in subsequent years as we gather more experience. The White Paper further mentions how after
working out a consensus on this VAT design, nearly all the States either have
finalised their VAT Bills by now and are in the process of obtaining
Presidential Assent, or will reach that stage very soon. Even for one major State
where there are some ground-level problems, a
positive interaction with the Empowered Committee has recently opened up the
possibility of resolving most of these problems. These efforts of the States towards
formulation of VAT design and its implementation have received full cooperation
of the Finance Ministry, Government of India. At the
same time, the Finance Ministry has never imposed their views on us. We, therefore, remain thankful to the
former Union Finance Ministers––Dr. Manmohan Singh, Shri Yashwant Sinha and
Shri Jaswant Singh. We are specially grateful to Shri P. Chidambaram, the present Union Finance
Minister, for his active support over the last eight months, when he not only
helped formulate the modality of Central financial support to the States for
possible loss of revenue in the transitional years of implementation of VAT, but
also took time off his busy schedule to participate with us in the campaign for
VAT in the States. (ii) It
has always been fruitful to have interaction with Dr. Parthasarathi Shome,
Adviser to the Union Finance Minister, for his insightful observations on the
analytical structure of VAT as well as his reference to vast experience in the
implementation of VAT. The Secretary, Revenue, Additional Secretary, Revenue and
all the concerned officials of the Revenue Department of the Finance Ministry
have helped us by participating in the discussions whenever we requested them,
and also by assisting in various procedural matters. Interaction
with Dr. Govinda Rao, the Chairman of Technical Experts Committee on VAT and
other members of the Committee has also been useful. We take this opportunity to
thank all of them. Discussions with the representatives of
trade organizations and chambers of commerce and industry at the national level
as well as in the States have been relevant in assessing the ground- level
difficulties. Together with them, we are determined to We remain thankful to them, and our mutual
interaction will take place regularly. Finally, this White Paper could be written
only on the basis of lively support of the Finance Ministers of the States, and
with constant help from the Finance Secretaries and the Commissioners of
Commercial Taxes of the States. The Commissioners of Commercial Taxes have often
burnt their mid-night oil, and their contribution should be particularly
recorded. Shri Ramesh Chandra, Member-Secretary of
the Empowered Committee had to carry on the difficult administrative task in the
functioning of the Empowered Committee. We appreciate the efforts of Shri
Chandra and the staff of the Empowered (iii) Even after all these efforts, there
may be some unavoidable shortcomings in this White Paper, which we will try to
overcome as we learn more from the actual experience of implementation of VAT.
With this background and the attitude, this White Paper is an expression of the
genuine commitment of the States to the implementation of VAT from April 1,
2005, which we are all looking forward to. Asim Kumar Dasgupta Convenor,
Empowered Committee of State Finance
Ministers,
and New Delhi, Finance Minister, January 17, 2005. Government of West Bengal. (iv) A White Paper On
State-Level Value
Added Tax By The Empowered Committee of State
Finance Ministers (Constituted By the Ministry of Finance, Government of India On
the Basis of Resolution Adopted in the Conference of the Chief
Ministers on November 16, 1999) New Delhi January 17, 2005 A White Paper On State-Level
Value Added Tax
By The Empowered Committee of State
Finance Ministers (Constituted By the Ministry of Finance,
Government of India On the Basis of Resolution Adopted in the Conference of the Chief Ministers
on November 16, 1999) New Delhi January 17, 2005 |