The Hindu Business Line : VAT collections register 17% growth in Bengal

Total value added tax (VAT) collections in West Bengal during 2006-07 as on date have shown a 17-per-cent growth, against an all India average of around 24 per cent.

In a bid to enhance collections, the West Bengal Commercial Taxes Department will be setting up a VAT Central Cell within the Directorate from April 1, initially covering four city circles.

Participating in an interactive session organised by the Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BNCCI), Mr H.K. Dwivedi, Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Government of West Bengal, said e-registration and e-filing of VAT returns were not picking up because of some infrastructure problems, "which are however not insurmountable".

Pointing out that the e-systems adopted in some of the other States such as Gujarat and Maharashtra may not be foolproof, he said the hardware problems were now being tackled upfront. The key problem, according to him, was that the required software for both registration and filing were still not standardized in the country and this was going to take some more time.

Pointing out that there was a need to cope with the emerging new technologies, he said the present IT infrastructure in the Directorate department did not permit large-scale implementation of the measures required with regard to online VAT registration. More simplified procedures would be implemented by end of this year itself, he added.

Asked what were the key issues with regard to VAT registration in Bengal, he said spot survey has revealed that the numbers were smaller compared to other States. The three main reasons he adduced for this were ignorance of VAT, wilful non-compliance and of course the cumbersome procedures.

Admitting that the Way Bill and C-Forms procedures were a bit subjective, being overseen by single officers, Mr Dwivedi said there was thus much scope for corruption and harassment. Precisely to tackle this problem, we need to e-connect all the check-posts, and develop the required infrastructure without any further delay. He said a panel has been set up to study the problems with regard to Way Bills issuance and make the process more objective.

Conceding that VAT refund was a huge problem, he said efforts were on to suitably adopt the Maharashtra model. He also admitted that there was a need to speed up refunds for the export sector to ensure that their money was not blocked unduly.

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