Post-GST, 2 tax depts to merge

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 22

The Department of Entertainment Tax will lose its relevance on July 1 when the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will become effective in the country.

The department will no longer remain a separate entity as it will be merged with the Department of Commercial Tax.

As of now the officers and employees were working as a separate entity but all these officers and employees would be shifted to the Commercial Tax Department. The entire arrangement is still being worked about the transfer of employees.

Similarly, in the districts too, the department housed in the district collectorate too will be merged with the commercial tax units of the districts. “The GST has been subsumed with commercial tax, as such the officers working in the Entertainment Department will move to the Commercial Department. As and when the existing staff retires, these posts will be abolished and the cadre too will no longer exist as a separate entity,” said Prakash Pant, Uttarakhand Finance Minister.

Meanwhile, the entertainment and amusement tax will continue to be collected by panchayat, municipal corporations and districts.

The entertainment tax is levied on cinema, video shows, cable TV operators, amusement, recreation, parlours, exhibition, pageants, races, game/sports etc.

The tax department earns maximum revenue from cable networks and DTH service providers. From July 1, all revenue collected by the department will be under GST. The Uttarakhand Entertainment Tax Department’s revenue collections had risen with the number of multiplexes coming up in Dehradun, Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar and Haldwani. It remains to be seen, if the same tempo would be maintained under the GST.

Horticulture employees oppose merger

Dehradun: Resentment is brewing among employees serving in the Department of Horticulture against the state government’s proposed move to merge the department  with the Agriculture Department. The employees under the aegis of Uttarakhand Tachniki Karamchari Sangh held a meeting on Thursday and expressed their resentment against the proposed move. “We have passed a resolution opposing the move. In the coming days and depending on the government’s move, we will launch an agitation,” said Deepak Purohit, coordinator of the sangh. The employees said in Jammu and Kashmir four directorates of horticulture have been set up to give impetus to horticulture activities. “In our state, barring the Tarai region, the horticulture activity is wide spread. It needs a separate department to remained focus,” said Purohit. He said the employees are getting desperate about their future, as the government has not ascertained their views on the issue. “We are in favour of holding discussions before the implementation of the decision,” he said.