All Odisha Textile Cloth Merchant Association (AOTCMA) on Tuesday threatened to shut all textile outlets in the state on March 30 and stage rally at Bhubaneswar in protest against the government’s decision to impose 5 percent levy on textile and sugar.
The general traders also threatened to stop importing essential commodities from the neighboring states from March 31 in protest the government decision. The government has decided to impose the tax from April 1 next.
“We had observed two-day bandh in June last year in protest against the government’s imposition of VAT on textile and sugar at 4 percent. The government was forced to rollback the levy and assured not to re-impose the tax till other states decide to collect the levy on these items”, said the president of the AOTCMA Rabi Mohapatra.
“While no other state except Andhra Pradesh has imposed levy on textile, why the Odisha government is so eager to impose the tax at 5 percent now,” he asked. In protest, the textile traders across the state will stage silent procession and submit a memorandum to chief minister Naveen Patnaik appealing to reconsider the decision, said P. Kameswar Rao, another office bearer of the association.
Around five lakh people are engaged in wholesale and retail textile business in the state, Mohapatra claimed.
Similarly Odisha Byabasayee Mahasangha (OBM) threatened to stop the import of the essential commodities from other states protesting the government move. Besides the new levy, the traders have to pay one per cent on sugar and 2 per cent entry tax on textile. So the tax burden will go up by six and seven percent respectively, said Ch. Rabindra Kumar, president, Ganjam Chamber of Commerce (GCC).
The VAT rate hike and imposition of levy on sugar and textile are likely to generate additional revenue of Rs 530 crore for the state exchequer.
In his budget speech, state finance minister Prafulla Chandra Ghadai said the additional resources to be realized on this account would be utilized for increasing the amount of pension being paid to over 37 lakh old, widow and disable persons from Rs 200 to Rs 300 per month from April 1.