Four northern States on Thursday called for uniformity in the rates of value added tax (VAT) on all goods, especially those in which trade diversion takes place with minimum difference in the sale price, and agreed for establishment of a zonal economic intelligence unit to avoid cross-border smuggling of goods.
The Finance and Taxation Ministers of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh met at the Delhi Secretariat here for deliberating on the measures to bring uniformity in tax rates. The Ministers felt that Delhi and its neighbouring States were witnessing loss of revenue because of a huge variance in tax rates.
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the finance portfolio, said since VAT was a major source of revenue for the northern States, uniformity of taxes was essential to safeguard revenue. In addition to Mr. Sisodia, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa, Haryana Finance Minister Capt. Abhimanyu and Himachal Pradesh Finance Minister Prakash Chaudhary attended the meeting.
ADVERTISEMENT