Gujarat State Budget Highlight
1. E-Commerce Transactions to be covered under purview of Entry Tax:-
It has been proposed to impose Entry tax on the goods coming in the State through e-commerce as the trade of State dealers is affected adversely & also the State suffers loss of tax revenue due to sale of goods in the State from outside the State under e-commerce transactions.
2. Pay 100% provisional refund within 30 days to small dealers:-
In order to promote trade friendly measures in case of small dealers, it has been proposed to pay 100% provisional refund within 30 days from the date of submission of all documents where refund due is upto Rs. 1 lakh. This will be subject to the following conditions:
- The dealers whose annual refund upto Rs. 1 lakh has been paid in the previous year will get this benefit in the subsequent year.
- The dealer should be holding Registration Certificate for more than 2 years.
3. Amnesty Scheme for recovery of tax dues:-
The recovery of tax dues under the Sales Tax Act and the VAT Act has been pending due to issues of interpretation, non-availability of statutory forms and pending before Appellate Authority etc. Thus tax amount actually due to the State remains outstanding. To address this Amnesty Scheme has been proposed as follows:
- Dues outstanding upto 31.12.2015 in the Sales Tax Act, VAT Act, Motor Spirit Act and CST Act will be covered under the scheme.
- Interest and penalty will be remitted on full payment of outstanding principal tax amount. However in case of tax evasion, full amount of principal tax, interest and 25% of penalty amount will have to be paid.
- The scheme will extend to the cases in appeal also where the appeal has been withdrawn.
4. Products proposed to be fully exempted or taxed at a lower rate:-
It has been proposed to fully exempt the following products for giving a boost to the economy.
- Bamboo and bamboo‐articles (except furniture)
- Pedal Rickshaw & cycle rickshaw
- Mosquito net
- Sanitary napkins & adult diapers
- Frozen semen
Ceramic products are proposed to be charged at a lower tax rate.
Further, rate of electricity duty charged from hotels/ restaurants & private hospitals is proposed to be reduced.
5. Products proposed to be taxed at higher rate as compared to present tax rate:-
It has been proposed to charger a higher rate of tax on following products:
- Vehicles purchased by institutions (institutional purchases)
- Luxury car/ SUV & luxury two wheeler
- Pan Masala
It has also been proposed to levy tax (including additional tax) on industrial salt used in manufacture of goods.