PANAJI:
This comes over and above Rs 2.79 hike in petrol price by oil marketing companies in Goa, which is a nationwide hike.
It is not just the petrol which has become costlier, the CM has even increased the VAT on luxury cars and sports utility vehicles (SUVs) costing Rs 15 lakhs and above and also on two-wheelers costing Rs 2 lakhs and above. Goa is a huge market for premium bikes and cars due to its high per capita income. This move is clearly aimed at tapping this market to increase the tax base.
The budget has even increased the excise duty on Indian made foreign liquor and beer. The industry in Goa also got a rude shock as the CM increased the VAT as well as entry tax for regasified liquefied natural gas from 20% to 30%.
Regasified liquefied natural gas is used as a raw material in manufacturing sector by many industries for purposes like heating. These industries had requested the CM to reduce the tax on the same.
This is because regasified liquefied natural gas is a raw material for manufacturing while the government treats it like petrol and diesel. But, the CM had a good news for small dealers up his sleeve.
Parsekar announced that the threshold limit for dealer registration for VAT was earlier Rs 5 lakhs annual turnover, which now has been increased to Rs 10 lakhs.
Earlier, no sooner did the dealer cross Rs 5 lakhs limit, he had to register for VAT. Similarly, the threshold limit for importers and manufacturers has been increased from Rs 1 lakhs to Rs 5 lakhs.
