Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal Friday announced the abolition of the e-trip system for major categories besides exempting traders having a turnover less than Rs.1 crore from filing VAT (value added tax) assessment.
Badal announced abolition of the existing e-transportation of information within Punjab (e-Trip) for iron and steel, yarn, vegetable oils, mustard oil, cotton and paper board.
"From today onwards, there would be no e-trip applicable in the state. This is a long pending demand of industrialists and traders as they were resisting the existing VAT collection system of the excise and taxation department against tax-evasion," he said.
The announcement was made by Badal at a meeting with traders and dealers from Punjab at Zirakpur, 15 km from Chandigarh, Friday.
Badal said that traders in Punjab having a turnover of less than Rs.1 crore will not be required to file VAT assessment.
He said that the VAT assessment exemption will benefit over 1.86 lakh dealers and traders across Punjab. This constitutes about 80 percent of the total dealer base in the state.
"This decision is of much importance for traders as their assessments of last four years are due and with this decision they have been given freedom from assessments for all these four years," a state government spokesman said.