VAT amendment bill tabled

Andhra Pradesh government on Friday tabled the AP Value Added Tax (amendment) Bill 2014 replacing the ordinance it had issued in June this year.

The ordinance was tabled by Minister of Health Kamineni Srinivasa Rao, who deputised for Minister for Finance Yanamala Ramakrishnudu.

The Bill is aimed at ensuring the genuineness of the claims for input tax credits by the VAT dealers. The Bill would make it mandatory for the dealers to attach annexures of invoice-wise details of purchases and sales, along with their monthly returns. This will enable the government to verify the genuineness of input tax credit claims which are arriving in huge quantities, the statement of objects and reasons explained.

In its existing form, the APVAT Act 2005 doesn’t provide for ensuring the genuineness of the claims which can be verified only at the time of audit, the Minister said.

Further, after amendment a new section will be inserted in the APVAT Act, 2005, which requires the transporters to register themselves and submit an electronically generated declaration to simplify the verification procedure for goods vehicles at the check-posts.

As per the Act’s existing provisions, verification of the details in way bills and invoices has become cumbersome and time consuming, especially, when different goods belonging to multiple dealers are transported in single vehicle, the statement said.