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Following the directions of state Excise and Taxation Department that said that applications for VAT refund would be accepted only if accompanied by C, H and some other related forms, the number of VAT refund applications in Ludhiana district have registered a steep 60% fall.
While the industrialists are demanding that the condition to submit C, H forms should be done away with, the officials say that as it was required by the Act, they could not do anything in the matter. It needs to be mentioned that every year, around Rs 500-crore VAT refund is claimed by the industrialists from all across the state. The industrialists are up in arms saying that the money due to them had been held up.
K.K Seth, owner of Seth Industrial Corporation, had complained to Manoranjan Kalia that they were only seeking their own money which they had deposited with the government and it was not a grant. Seth said, “This is a new way to delay VAT refund.”
However the Director, Excise and Taxation Department, KBS Sidhu, told Newsline, “The Act requires that all forms must be attached along while claiming VAT refunds. But somehow it was not being implemented seriously earlier. Now only we have told the departments to follow the directions in letter and spirit.”
Officers indicated that unless the government amended the law by taking it up in the Vidhan Sabha and notify that applications could be given without the required forms, they could not do anything.
Meanwhile, the industrialists recently had also complained to Local Bodies Minister Manoranjan Kalia that they needed changes in this new law. Kalia however had made no commitment and had said that he would hold another meeting with industrialists in this connection.
P.D Sharma, President of Apex Chamber and Commerce and Industry, said, “This condition was implemented in the first week of October and since then hardly any application has been given. The C and H forms are given by the states where we supply material and at times we get these forms towards year-end. So this demand is not justified.”
When contacted, Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner Parampal Singh confirmed a drastic fall in the number of applications.
What triggered the move
It needs to be mentioned that the decision to implement the Act was taken after a bogus billing refund scam was unearthed in Ludhiana. The scam, when unearthed, was believed to be of Rs 657 crore involving 52 firms, but after many layers of the scam were uncovered by the investigators, the scam amount ballooned to Rs 2000 crore with 2,000 units involved in it. About 150 units had also claimed VAT refunds and over 5 crores payment had also been made to a few units. So the department has decided to implement the instructions in act which has been in force since long. The scam investigations have yet not concluded, said Sidhu.
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