Delhi govt to start drive to register traders with VAT dept

New Delhi: In order to bring more traders under tax net in the capital, Delhi government will run a large scale campaign from April to encourage the city's dealers, whose gross turnover is more than Rs 20 lakh annually, to register themselves with its VAT department.

The Trade and Taxes Department of the government will run campaign in various markets of the capital and also resort to Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS), radio and newspaper ads to target "unregistered traders".

As per the plan, government will also gather intelligence inputs about dealers whose annual turnover is more than Rs 20 lakh but they have not registered themselves with the VAT Department in order to evade paying taxes.

The move is aimed at boosting the VAT collection in the next financial year.

"The department has decided to run a campaign in city's various markets where traders will be asked to register with it from April. Apart from this, we will also appeal to the unregistered traders through IVRS, radio, newspaper and television ads to come under the tax net," said a senior government official.

The official further said that if traders, whose annual turnover is more than Rs 20 lakh, fail to register with VAT Department, government will take strict action under Delhi VAT ACT.

VAT Department, headed by Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Manish Sisodia, has focused on plugging loopholes to prevent tax evasion so that the revenue could be increased.

The department has managed to collect Rs 20,000 crore so far against its target of Rs 21,000 crore which officials claimed would be achieved by the end of March.