VAT, first step towards integrated tax structure

India has one of the highest tax rates in the world with a narrow tax base, while with value added tax (VAT) one can capture a greater tax base and, through effective implementation, awareness and compliance ensure greater registration of dealers and record maintenance," said M Gopalakrishna, chairman, Andhra Pradesh State Financial Corporation (APSFC).

Delivering the keynote address at the two-day Southern Regional Conference of the Indian Institute of Materials Management (IIIM) that began here today, he said that VAT would eliminate the cascading effect of sales tax and was the first step towards a comprehensive, integrated goods and services tax.

Inaugurating the conference on 'Value Added Tax (VAT) and its impact on Supply Chain Management (SCM)', organised by the Hyderabad chapter of the IIIM, Andhra Pradesh commissioner of commercial taxes, V Bhaskar, said that there was a need to look into the differential treatment of capital goods, industrial inputs and other goods while imposing VAT.

IIMM president, K Bharadwaj, said that the materials manager and the supply chain manager have to equip themselves to the changing materials management scenario under the VAT regime.

He said that IIMM had recently launched an MBA programme in materials management with M P Bhoj Open University of Bhopal and has plans to start a PhD programme too.

"A revised application for chartership status is being pursued with the ministry of human resource development and we are also looking at the possibility of obtaining a deemed university status," Bharadwaj said.