Himachal Pradesh Government today tabled a bill in the State Assembly to amend State VAT Act so that it could exclude diesel and lubricants from ambit Himachal Pradesh Tax on Entry of Goods into Local Area Act, 201 0 and regularize the ordinance passed recently to plug revenue loss and check escalation of diesel and lubricate prices.
The bill was presented in the Assembly by Parliamentary affairs minister Mr. Mukesh Agnihotri in the absence of Excise and Taxation Minister Prakash Chaudhary in the Assembly today. The bill was tabled with intent to discourage the purchase of diesel and
lubricants by manufacturers from outside the State as the manufacturers buying diesel within the State were at a disadvantage vis-a-vis the manufacturers buying diesel from outside the State.
ln addition, State was also losing revenue on this account. Accordingly the Himachal Pradesh Tax on Entry of Goods into Local Area (Amendment) Act,2016 was enacted. However, inadvertently the implications of the same on the business of petrol pump owners and dealers dealing in sale of lubricants after purchasing these items from outside the State was overlooked.
On account of this amendment such Petrol Pump owners and dealers dealing in lubricants for sale also became liable to pay Entry Tax thereby leading to cost escalation. This could further lead to diversion of trade there by causing huge loss of revenue to the State exchequer. This bill would enable the government to replace the Himachal Pradesh Tax on Entry of Goods into Local Area Ordinance, 20l6 which was promulgated recently.
