Hyderabad: The AP government has brought to the notice of the Centre that Sections 50, 51 and 56 of the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014 — which have triggered a row over sharing commercial tax earnings between the state and TS — are against the principles of natural justice and has demanded amendment to these sections.
AP wants everything to be shared in the ratio of population. However, the TS government is disputing this on the ground that the Telangana region contributed a major chunk of commercial taxes in undivided AP but only a minor amount was spent in Telangana while most funds were diverted to the Seemandhra region.
“AP’s argument is totally unfair. It’s a known fact that Telangana region contributed a major share to undivided AP's tax kitty for several decades towards commercial taxes. But only a portion of that amount was spent in Telangana while the rest was diverted to Seemandhra region. We are not demanding AP to pay back that amount to TS. What we want is that after bifurcation, the traders in the respective states should pay their taxes to the respective governments as per the AP Reorganisation Act,” said S. Venugopala Chary, special representative to TS government in New Delhi.
Mr Venugopala Chary has already taken up the issue with the Centre and has lodged a strong protest over AP seeking amendment to the Act to collect arrears.
He said the AP government, which has threatened to approach the courts on this issue, is now trying to bring pressure on the Centre to amend the Act knowing that their argument will not stand legal scrutiny.
