Abolishment of Octroi/LBT

INDUSTRY

Industry & Trade Bodies 

Take a 

Hard Stance  Decide not to

 favour the ruling  Government, 

if Octroi & LBT is not  abolished

Government is hesitant and reluctant

 on removing Octroi 

from  Mumbai city

 Feel  Industry & Trade Bodies 

Industry and Trade bodies have shown their resolve once again and have refused to compromise anything lesser than the abolishment of Octroi/LBT. “We want complete removal of both, Octroi & LBT we will not compromise on this”, said Mr Mohan Gurnani, President, Federation of Associations of Maharashtra (FAM).

Asking why the government is so hell-bent on not abolishing Octroi& LBT,Mr Gurnani further added that Government is trying to protect the autonomy of municipal corporations by citing out reasons like liquidity and yield, which can be easily taken care of even if Octroi & LBT is subsumed in VAT. Besides, the Government does not want to remove Octroi from Mumbai also.”

Mr Sandeep Parikh, Vice President, Chamber of Small Industry Association (COSIA), said that, “Government’s propaganda that Corporations will lose significant revenue, if they abolish Octroi,and subsumed it into VAT, is not at all true. The revenue that will be generated through VATable surcharge can be directly allocated to Corporations, and that could be the perfect revenue replacement. When industry and traders are open for an alternate tax like VATable surcharge, then why should the government shy away from the proposal?It is a vested interest in Municipal Corporations and the Bureaucracy, which are seeking to frustrate the implementation of a sensible solution.”

The Industry &Trade Bodies also raised concerns about the functioning of Corporations. Mr Sanjay Mehta, General Secretary, SSCA, added, “It is well known that quite a few Corporations are not properly audited and in some cases, not audited at all. Therefore, there is no credibility attached to their financial statements, requirements and disbursal of funds and projections of tax requirements.”

Despite the reservations of Industry and that in view of the abysmal possession of industry and zero rate of growth, Government of Maharashtra will take the necessary decision to opt for surcharge on VAT which is finally the most rational decision.