Himachal to start 'deemed assessment' system

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on Friday said the government would soon introduce 'deemed assessment' system for the traders having a turnover below Rs.1 crore.

He said this would spare the traders the hassles of arduous regular assessment procedure and frequently visiting the offices of excise and taxation department.

As per the deemed assessment system, a trader lodges a return that shows no taxable income or that there is no tax payable.

To ensure hassle-free transportation of goods, the chief minister said the vehicles leaving the state have already been exempted from stopping at the inter-state barriers.

Henceforth the trucks with full online declaration of goods entering the state would also not be required to stop at the inter-state barriers, he said.

Currently, 'dhaba' owners, sweetmeat, tea and 'chat' sellers are exempted from payment of value-added tax (VAT) if their annual turnover is less than Rs.5 lakh. From April 1, the exemption limit for them has been raised to Rs.8 lakh per annum.

"There were about 47,000 small traders with a turn-over of less than Rs.25 lakh, paying tax to the government. Such traders have been brought under the ambit of government's group accidental insurance cover of Rs.200,000," said the chief minister, who presided over the first meeting of re-constituted Traders Welfare Board.

The chief minister said VAT on fabrication of body of trucks and buses would be reduced to 5 percent from 13.75 percent.