Chandigarh, Apr 02: The Punjab assembly today passed at least 16 bills, including Punjab Electricity (duty) Amendment Bill, even as the Value Added Tax (VAT) Bill was withdrawn by the government.
Speaker Kewal Krishan told the house that the Punjab VAT Bill had been "withdrawn" by the government. The bill was included I the list of bills to be considered for passage by the assembly among others, the bills passed by the assembly included Punjab General Sales Tax (amendment), Punjab tax on entry of goods into local areas (amendment), Punjab Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management and Punjab Cooperative Societies (amendment) Bill, 2003.

The house also "unanimously" passed six bills pertaining to salaries and allowances of members of legislative assembly, deputy ministers, Speaker and Deputy Speaker and leader of opposition. These bills involve about Rs 8.60 crore of additional expenditure on the state exchequer every year. Bureau Report