Taking a positive attitude towards the demand of the Federation of All Odisha Traders' Association (FAOTA) to revise the rate of VAT on pulses and edible oil, finance minister Pradip Kumar Amat today said he would soon place the proposal before the Cabinet.
"The state government has been considering the demand of traders association in a positive way. I will place this matter before the Cabinet," Amat told reporters after a meeting with the members of the FAOTA.
Earlier, the FAOTA had threatned to intensify its agitation from June 1 if the State Government did not withdraw valued added tax (VAT), fee and local taxes on pulses and take them out from the ambit of sensitive commodities category by then.
While the state government has imposed 5 per cent VAT on pulses, the traders have been demanding complete withdrawal of tax on pulses as in other states. FAOTA general secretary Sudhakar Panda said as many as 23 States have exempted VAT on pulses, wheat and wheat products.
He said the FAOTA has urged the Odisha Government to impose one per cent entry tax on these commodities instead of VAT. From this, the Government would get Rs 50 crore to compensate the VAT loss, he said.
Meanwhile, Amat said: "The govenrment may reduce the rate of VAT on pulses on an experimental basis before taking the final decision on the traders demand.
