Entry tax hiked to 5% in Bihar

The Bihar government today hiked entry tax on coal, among various goods, to five per cent to bring it at par with the existing VAT rate in the state, an official said.

The hike in the entry tax on goods like coal, computer hardware, steel and plastic pipes, Vanaspati, telephone set and spare parts, stone chips and boulder, tractor and plyboard, will enable the state government to even out its revenue losses on account of differential rate of entry tax and VAT on different goods, Principal Secretary (Cabinet Coordination and Secretariat) Ravikant told reporters.

The state government also approved a proposal by the panchayati raj department for conducting of bypolls to fill 1,917 vacant posts of mukhiyas, sarpanches and members of the gram panchyat, gram kuchheri and zila parishad on December 20 next.

The notification in this regard is expected to be issued by the state election commission on November 28 next and counting will take place on December 21 next, he said.

Among other decisions, the state government sanctioned an additional grant of Rs 19.42 crore for development of centres of excellence at 19 government colleges in Bihar in the first phase, he said.

The state government also approved a proposal to transfer 0.28 acre land in Thakurganj circle in Kishanganj district to the Union Home Ministry on payment of Rs 4 lakh for setting up a campus for SSB 36 batallion, he said.

It further sanctioned Rs 26.46 crore as the state's share to the centre's rural cleanliness scheme for construction of 24,582 units of toilets in government schools spread over 33 districts at a rate of Rs 10,500 per unit.

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