AAP promises reduction in VAT in Delhi

• VAT rates in Delhi to be reduced & rationalised.
• AAP proposes to make Delhi a trading hub
• Raid regime will be dismantled
• Reforms will be introduced to turn Delhi into a retail powerhouse

Former Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday promised rationalisation of Value Added Tax (VAT) in the national capital by reducing it on goods in which it is higher in comparison to other states, particularly neighbouring states of Delhi.

He said the VAT rationalisation will help the consumers and traders, both of whom are unhappy with the way this tax is being currently calculated in an arbitrary manner without a proper rationale.

Kejriwal was addressing a fund raiser lunch programme organised by the AAP Traders Wing for the coming assembly elections.

Outlining the party’s vision for traders of Delhi, Kejriwal informed the gathering that the AAP proposes to make national capital a trading powerhouse by creating a traders friendly environment.

He said apart from VAT rationalisation, the AAP is committed to simplify the procedure of payment of this tax by traders. The party proposes to initiate online payment of VAT for convenience of traders.

The AAP will abolish raids by VAT department inspectors which are carried in the name of sudden visits. Kejriwal said tax collection from traders cannot be coercive, since it is counter-productive and leads to more tax evasion.

Traders have to be encouraged to pay taxes on time by providing incentives and the AAP government will abolish all coercive measures currently used against traders.

The AAP will give priority to revive the wholesale business in Delhi and will make all possible efforts to turn the national capital into a retail hub. The party will unveil its plan to encourage the wholesale distributive character of the national capital.

President of the Delhi unit of AAP traders wing Sub hash Khandelwal and convenor Brajesh Goyal thanked Kejriwal for the pro-traders steps taken by his government earlier this year.

This was the first in the series of fund raiser programmes to be organised by the party wings. Initial collections from Sunday’s programme were calculated at more than Rs 50 lakh. Names of all donors along with the amount donated by them will be displayed on the party website.