Nellore: The demonetisation has adversely affected the trade, particularly the revenues of Commercial Tax department in Nellore. The revenue of CT wing has come down by 45 per cent compared to the same period last year. Automobile and FMCG sectors are the worst hit because of the ban on higher denomination notes. In fact the car and motorcycles sale has come down by over 50 per cent in November and same trend expected to continue till Sankranti.
While the target of Commercial Tax department consisting of Prakasam and Nellore district for the year 2016-17 is set at Rs 1201.59 crore as against Rs 858.29 crore last year, the realisation is likely to be around Rs 1,000 crore and this too if there is any improvement in business in the next four months, a senior official of CT said.
He said they are banking on manufacturing units in Sri City and Menakuru and edible oils imported through Krishnapatnam Port to reach at least Rs 1,000 crore mark.
Speaking to this newspaper Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes S.E. Krishnamohan Reddy said the revenue growth was at the rate of 20 per cent every year while expressing doubts over achieving the target.
He said hefty penalties imposed during vehicular checks on commodities especially rice, paddy, pulses and granite made the traders to fall in line and carry waybills after paying the taxes and this has contributed to the steady increase in the revenue.
For instance the revenue from vehicular checks was Rs 9.7 crore in 2015-16 and the revenue as on date during the current financial year with four months on hand is Rs 9 crore, Mr Reddy said.
Reacting to a question on 29 acres acquired by the department to build a modern check post at AP-Tamil Nadu border at Tada, he said they have put off the plans for the present in view of the introduction of GST since there is hardly any scope for tax evasion. However, intercepting the vehicles will continue in future also, he informed.
Post-demonetisation blues haunt employees
As expected, demonetisation blues struck hard on pay day on Thursday continue to haunt the employees of both private and government departments. Pay day commitments to domestic help, chit fund payments, and hand loans were all affected by the ‘zero balance’ in the pockets of employees.
Government teacher Naga Malleshwar Rao said it was not fair to restrict withdrawals to Rs 10,000 per day. This amount would serve no purpose. There were many payments to be made, it needed up to Rs 25,000.
In view of demonetisation the government could have given cash instead of depositing in their account, he stated. A lecturer of Silver Jubilee Government Degree College was furious and said that it was not some unaccounted cash but their own hard earned money they were withdrawing.
“The government has to think about the public’s daily needs. It is highly impossible to stand in the long line to draw the amount. We have to take leave for the day to draw the amount. The government should relax the slab fixation of Rs 10,000 withdrawal per day as this amount would serve no purpose to meet the family needs,” he said.
“After deductions I am getting a salary of Rs 65,000 and to get this amount I have to reserve my position in the lengthy queue from the early morning,” said Mr Govind, a Panchayat Raj department employee.
“I cannot stand endlessly in a queue nor will I be given leave for this. I have been forced to take small loans with nominal interest to meet my family needs,” said Mr Govind. Mandal Development Officer Mohammad Basha has said that there is no problem in meeting the daily transactions.
“The government has allowed withdrawing an amount of Rs 24, 000 per week and that amount was more than enough. In addition to the permissible amount from the bank we can carry out the transactions through debit and credit cards,” he stated.
