Punjab government today strongly opposed the decision of the Centre to charge service tax on foreign remittances fee from NRIs and sought its withdrawal.
"We strongly oppose it and totally against it (tax on NRI remittances fee)," Punjab NRI Affairs Minister Tota Singh said.
He said that the decision of Centre will make it difficult for the NRIs to send money back home for their family members and relatives.
"I will soon write a letter to the Centre expressing strong displeasure over it (tax on NRI remittances fee)," he said.
Singh said that he would also lead a delegation of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MPs to the Finance Minister to lodge protest over the move of the Centre while demanding its withdrawal.
"I have been receiving several calls from Punjabi NRIs to help them on the issue of this tax," Singh said.
Last week, Punjab Congress senior leader and former Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal had said the decision to charge service tax on foreign remittances fee was a "grave injustice" to NRIs and had questioned Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal's "silence" over it.
In July 2012, UPA government issued a clarification that there will be no service tax on NRI remittances fee, Bhattal said.
However, the Modi government through a circular dated October 14, 2014, cancelled the old circular and service tax on foreign remittances is now charged at 12.36 per cent, she claimed.
Meanwhile, minister Tota Singh said that the state government will host "NRI Sangat Darshan Samellans" at Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Moga in December and January on the demand of NRIs, with Badal redressing their grievances at the event.
