Kerala VAT Bill Entering Assembly With Five Schedules Incomplete

Font Size

Print

Feedback

Email

Discuss

Thiruvananthapuram, January 8:: The Kerala government has readied its value added tax (VAT) bill for the budget session of the assembly beginning on January 24, but a limping one at that.

For Kerala assembly, ninth in the 23-state VAT queue, it is the first experience of a bill entering the house with all its five schedules incomplete. All the 8 states (Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal) that are ready with draft bill have published complete schedules. Madhya Pradesh assembly had passed VAT Act last year.

The incomplete nature only shows its flexibility, state commissioner of commercial taxes, V Somasundaram told êiFEêr. The list of commodities for each schedule is to be thrashed out in the assembly based on Kerala government's prior commitments and welfare policy. Anyhow, easy amendments had to be accomodated, Mr Somasundaram said. Clause 89 of the bill empowers the government to amend the schedule to the Act by gazette notification. The first schedule, second schedule, third schedule, fourth schedule and fifth schedule mentions zero-tax goods, goods on which tax can be levied on all sales points, 4 per cent and all point tax-leviable goods, goods on which tax can be levied on first point only and 4 per cent tax leviable, first point only goods respectively.

But then, there is no list or description of these goods. The filling of the blanks is the onus of the assembly. Of the socio-economic compulsions, which might make a difference, the socially meaningful gesture would be rethink on the 4 per cent tax to be leviable on rice, Kerala population's staple diet.Æ From the point of view of state government's revenue, a review of the tax on IMFL is also likely. Kerala State Beverages Cooperation, the state's official liquor monopoly supplier, now brings over Rs 1000 crore every month to the state government's tax kitty.