Stoppage of work by road transporters and drop in commodity sales caused by reintroduction of turnover tax and entry tax on major commodities may cripple the trade in West Bengal.
To cap it, transporters plying all types of cargo and commercial vehicles will observe a three-day strike beginning August 26 in a move very much like the strike that hit commerce earlier this year.
Since West Bengal is one of the bigger commodity markets in the country -- supplying markets in eastern and north-eastern India as well as Nepal and Bangladesh -- the development is worrying, said top commodity market sources.
The Bengal Truck Operators Co-ordination Committee has given the state government a month's time to withdraw or cut back on the recently announced hike in road tax and vehicle fees.
"Truckers will suspend operations in September for a longer period unless the fees are rolled back", Amitava Mitra, secretary of the body, said.
The members carry bulk of commodities ferried in the state as also onward cargo to other states in the region and land ports on the borders with Bangladesh, Nepal, Sikkim etc.
The body has also asked the government to immediately implement national norms to prevent overloading of trucks, as the state police allegedly ignores cases of overloading.
The state has also reintroduced, through the West Bengal Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2003, turnover tax at 3 per cent on cement besides increasing stamp duty on real estate projects.
N R Goenka, president of Bharat Chamber of Commerce, warned that the two levies combined would hit demand for cement and all types of materials used in the construction sector. Demand for real estate would be hit too.
Goenka also warned that the imposition of entry tax would push up cost of products. Ironically, Bengal took the lead in state tax reforms by being the fist state to abolish entry tax a few years ago.
Another unrelated item which would be more expensive in the state would be set top boxes used for the conditional access system.
While the Union government has reduced the import duty on STBs, Bengal has already imposed a sales tax on the item. However, duties on multiplexes and units located in export zones have been sharply reduced.
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