MARGAO
Environment Minister Aleixo Sequeira on Friday said that Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has extended by a month the date to facilitate small traders to register under the Value Added Tax Act.
He said the beleaguered traders, who did not get registered under the VAT Act, need not pay a penalty of Rs 25,000 since the Chief Minister has agreed to extend the time frame by a month.
“I had taken up the issue of small traders to exempt them from the payment of a penalty of Rs 25,000 for not registering themselves under the VAT Act. The Chief Minister has been gracious to extend the date by a month,” he said, adding “Since the CM has agreed to extend the date by a month, the traders need not pay the penalty of Rs 25,000.”
The Minister said the issues concerning the traffic signals at Nuvem will be resolved with the contractor agreeing to fix the issue. On the state of the South Goa District Hospital, Sequeira said he is the Minister for Environment, Captain of Ports and Judiciary and not the State’s health minister. He, however, said the Health Minister had promised on the floor of the House that the government would improve the facilities at the hospital.
