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Bhubaneswar, April 3: The Federation of All Orissa Traders’ Associations (FAOTA) Sunday formally suspended its agitation and resumed import of essential commodities including pulses and oil much to the relief of consumers in the state.
The FAOTA truce with the state government, however, appears short-lived as the traders’ forum has obtained a formal assurance from the latter until May 26. The state government has promised to look into the problems of the traders soon after the ongoing Budget session of the state assembly.
“We are calling off strike from today till May 26 as the state government has given us a written assurance to hold a meeting immediately after conclusion of Budget session (May 20, 2016) to take a suitable decision with regard to our demand for exemption of 5 per cent value added tax (VAT) on essential commodities,” said FAOTA general secretary Sudhakar Panda.
After participating in a meeting with the state government officials Saturday, the traders’ association held another round of discussions among the stakeholders in this regard and announced suspension of its decision on their import ban.
The traders’ body has been demanding exemption of 5 per cent VAT on essential commodities such as pulses, wheat and wheat products and insisting that the state government levy 1 per cent entry tax on such commodities. The contention of the FAOTA is that imposition of entry tax will help the state government get a revenue of `68crore against its present earnings of `40crore. Besides, it will also reduce the tax burden on the consumers who actually pay the VAT.
The move of the traders’ body had put the government in the dock as the state government is entirely dependent on other states for pulses and wheat products. The daily requirement of pulses in the state is 2500 tonne and wheat and wheat-based commodities is 3000 tonne. The state is dependent on import of 90 per cent of these edible commodities from other states.
Meanwhile, the traders’ body has stated that the market situation is normal despite their two-day import ban. Sudhakar Panda has urged the consumers in the state to cross-check with the prices fixed by the association’s bulletins everyday and report cases to it as well as the state government if they notice overpricing or anomalies.