Leader of Opposition in the House Vijender Gupta tears up the state government’s proposed VAT amendment Bill, in the Assembly on Tuesday. (Source: Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal) Leader of Opposition in the House Vijender Gupta tears up the state government’s proposed VAT amendment Bill, in the Assembly on Tuesday. (Source: Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)

Much like the other days of the week-long Budget session of the Delhi Assembly, its last day too had its share of drama.

Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta created quite a ruckus while he protested the Delhi government’s decision to levy a VAT between 12.5 per cent and 30 per cent on various goods, stretching the cap by 10 per cent.

The three BJP MLAs in the House — Gupta, O P Sharma and Jagdish Pradhan —protested in the Well of the Assembly, contending that the ruling Aam Aadmi Party had made misleading claims of not increasing VAT in its Budget.

The protest culminated with Gupta tearing up a copy of the Delhi VAT (second Amendment) Bill, which was introduced in the Assembly by Finance Minister Manish Sisodia on Monday, and flinging the pieces of paper in the air.

As the pieces fell on the floor, the three BJP MLAs staged a walkout.

The VAT Amendment Bill will allow the government to hike the tax on 11 items by up to 30 per cent. The items that could be impacted by a higher VAT are mostly petroleum and tobacco related. They are naptha, aviation turbine fuel, spirit, gasoline, furnace oil, wax (except candle wax), any mixture and combination of above products, foreign liquor and Indian-made foreign liquor, country liquor, narcotics, molasses, rectified spirit, lottery tickets, brake fluid, tobacco gutkha, unprocessed tobacco, bidis and tobacco used in making bidis and hookah tobacco, aerated drinks and watches costing above Rs 5,000.

However, Sisodia refuted the allegations made by the BJP and claimed that those who had interpreted the increase in the VAT cap as an increase in the levy of tax, had actually not read the VAT Amendment Bill.

“This parcha-faad (paper-tearing) party tore no papers in UP where the VAT ceiling is 50 per cent. States like Haryana, Gujarat and Rajasthan, which have their party’s government, have unlimited VAT. We have only up to 30 per cent. Flexibility in VAT is different from increase in tax,” Sisodia said.

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