Srinagar, July 5: Seeking modifications in the new VAT return form, the Valley traders Tuesday urged the government to “defer” it for time being.
 Addressing a press conference here today, President Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation (KTMF) Muhammad Yasin Khan said: “Majority of the traders cannot fill up the 7-page VAT return form unless they have assistance of a trained accountant, which they cannot afford for the obvious reasons.”
 “The new form is quite difficult to fill. It will entail the maintenance of a large number of books and assistance of a trained accountant. So we demand that government should defer it till further orders and in the meantime carry out necessary modifications in it,” he said.
 “The government has increased number of pages of the VAT return form from one to seven making it more complicated,” he said. He said the time for filing of the first quarter VAT return form ends on 31st July. “The traders won’t be able to switch over to this new form in this short period of time.”
  “We have approached the government several times for the withdrawal of this form but they don’t take us seriously. We want the VAT form to be simple which the traders can fill without any difficulty,” said former president KTMF Sadiq Baqal.
 He said the government introduced the new VAT form without taking the traders of the state into confidence.
 “Unnecessary information in the new VAT form creates difficulties for the traders. Government should modify the VAT form after consulting the traders,” said Yasin.
 A representative of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Fayaz Ahmad said the complicated VAT form could put the traders to trouble in case “we fill something wrong due to our ignorance.”

Lastupdate on : Tue, 5 Jul 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 5 Jul 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 6 Jul 2011 00:00:00 IST