The Hindu Business Line : Traders call for three-day bandh against VAT

IN a last ditch attempt to protest against the implementation of the value-added tax (VAT) from April 1, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) and the Bharat Udyog Vyapar Mandal have called for a three-day nationwide strike from Wednesday. Traders belonging to more than 5,000 trade federations and chambers and their allied trade bodies are expected to participate in the strike.

CAIT has also decided to present a petition to the President, Mr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, opposing the service tax levied on traders and the proposed VAT regime.

During the three-day bandh, the traders' body of each State would give representations to their respective Finance Ministers, Sales Tax Commissioners on VAT and Service Tax Commissioners on Service Tax, Mr Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary-General, CAIT, said in a statement on Tuesday.

The bandh is restricted only to closure of business establishments. Though the legislative preparations in different States are at various stages, Mr Khandelwal said the piecemeal introduction of VAT would be detrimental to trade and economy.

Impending confusion due to shift from sales tax to VAT has caught the trading community in a state of uncertainty and consequently adversely impact the commercial freight market. This despite that fact freight rates normally touch peak levels in March because of annual closing of the financial year.

A survey by the Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training (IFTRT) at 30 major trading centres to study the impact of VAT revealed that commercial road transport activity, retail cargo and parcel dispatches shrank by 40 per cent in March 2005. The truck rentals have also dropped by 4-5 per cent.

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