RCTA submits memorandum to the CM

Rajasthan Computer Traders Association (RCTA) recently submitted a memorandum to the chief minister of the state on "amendments announced in the last budget for IT retrospective effect.

The letter, signed by the Sugreev Ranawat, president, RCTA states, "The chief Minister in his budget last year clearly stated that there are practical difficulties in interpreting the rate of tax in computer items and hence to resolve the issue a clarification note would be brought about. Later, the budget was announced and it did clarify by specifying a broad range of products under the head peripherals. However, instead of making it a clarificatory statement it was worded as "shall be substituted with immediate effect."

The association asked retrospectively, "The question is what happened to past issues which have risen as a result of this ambiguity. The dealers went by common logic and trade parlance in what would constitute a peripheral. In any case they deposited whatever VAT they charged from the customers. Even otherwise the IT policy had already classified all the items in detail, which is in total sync with the spirit of RVAT when read with the clarifications issues now."

In a solution to this problem, the association asked the state government to make the clarification retrospectively. It requested, "At least issue a letter saying amendments made were claificatory in nature. It would be illogical and judicially imprudent to continue harassing the dealers for confusion left in the policy earlier which has now been accepted and corrected by government. In the process, lot of dealers would go bankrupt as they won't be able to pay such huge tax difference and interests for no fault of theirs."

The letter concluded stating, "Logically an item which is considered as a peripheral now would fall in the category of peripheral in the past also."