"All states are on board. 27 states have passed the laws. Many of them have got presidential assent," Chidambaram told the Rajya Sabha.

Allaying fears of traders, who were agitating over VAT, Chidambaram assured that the government would look into all their "genuine apprehensions".

The crisis over VAT

In this connection, he would visit various parts of the country to hold meetings with traders beginning with Chennai on December 30.

It would be followed by visits to Kolkata, Mumbai, Kanpur, Nagpur, Guwahati and several other places, he said

He also appealed to all to work together in implementing VAT, a major tax reform measure undertaken in the country.

"Let us work together. This is the single most tax reform measure undertaken in the country. We are determined to implement VAT from April 1, 2005," Chidambaram said.