Govt to withdraw notification on online transactions

After much resentment from industrialists regarding the notification about online transactions, the state government has now decided to withdraw this notification. This was disclosed by Badish Jindal, president of the Federation of Punjab Small Industries Association (FOPSIA). He stated that Chief Parliamentary Secretary (excise and Taxation) Sarup Singh Singla had informed him about this late in the evening.

Industry, however, had already planned a dharna against the notification on August 9. According to the notification, online registration of goods purchased with value of up to Rs 2 lakh and steel goods of up to Rs 3 lakh had been made mandatory. This was aimed at bringing transparency to the system.

The joint forum had held a meeting at Overloak Road, at which the members had also received support from the Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal, MLAs Simarjeet Singh Bains and Balwinder Singh Bains, and former minister Satpal Gosain.

The industrialists maintained that more than 35 per cent of them don't even have an access to computers till now. Thus, they felt that the notification was nothing but a step to trouble them.

However Ludhiana Beopar Mandal President Maninder Pal Singh Teetu had also issued a statement today. "We welcome this notification and it will only help in bringing more transparency to the system and serve as a check on bogus bills.The genuine trader need not panic about this," he contended.

"Moreover, the small trader has already been given relief as the condition is only for transactions of Rs 2 lakh and above," he added. As a large part of industry was all set to protest against this notification, the political class intervened.

Earlier State Excise and Taxation Commissioner A Venuprasad had stated that it would not be withdrawn. "The notification had been issued to bring transparency to the system and if one is working genuinely. We had observed that many traders change their bills or even erase their bills from their computers," he had pointed out.

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