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PUNE: Filing of returns would soon be a much easier preposition for the value added tax (VAT) dealers in the city. The sales tax, Pune division, will introduce the facility for online filing of VAT returns in two months, D.V. Bhalchandra, additional commissioner, sales tax (Pune), told TOI. Starting with the larger contributors of VAT, the e-filing facility would be introduced in a phased manner and would eventually benefit 60,000 VAT dealers in the city, he added. The department has hired services of Hyderabad-based Electronics Corporation of India (ECI) Limited for developing the software required for facilitating e-filing of returns, he said. The move forms part of the restructuring exercise undertaken by the sales tax department post-introduction of VAT on April 1, 2005. Next to Mumbai, Pune is the largest contributor of VAT to the state coffers. While Mumbai’s annual contribution is in the range of Rs 11,000 to Rs 12,000 crore, Pune contributes over Rs 3,500 crore. In financial year 2006-07, VAT constituted 95 per cent of the department’s Rs 3,780 crore total revenue from Pune. “We expect Rs 4,300 crore revenue for 2007-08,” Bhalchandra said and added that the first five months of the current year had realised Rs 1,643 crore. According to Bhalchandra, the e-filing facility would be initially extended to 10,000 VAT dealers having an annual turnover in excess of Rs 40 lakh each. This includes the 350 large tax payers (LTPs), ie, dealers paying VAT in excess of Rs 50 lakh each year. Majority of these LTPs are manufacturers, importers, exporters and liquor dealers, he said. “Later, the facility would be extended to the remaining 50,000 dealers in the division,” he added. Referring to the restructuring measures, Bhalchandra said the department had applied special focus on the 350 LTPs, who together contribute 40 per cent of VAT collections from Pune. “We have created a single-window clearance cell for the LTPs where a dedicated staff of 12 officers assist these 350 tax payers in processing matters ranging from filing of registration applications to settlement of refund claims, conduct of business audits, issuance of clearance certificates and providing updates on latest trade circulars issued by the state,” he said. The department has outsourced the process of tax audits to professional chartered and cost accountants, which has relieved the dealers from the hassle of making frequent appearances at the sales tax office. “Now, the emphasis is on voluntary declarations that are subject to scrutiny by professional third-party entities,” he said.

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