After nearly two years the Goa Tax on Entry of Goods (amendment) Act, 2013, was notified, and the Directorate of Commercial Taxes has framed rules to levy five percent value added tax (VAT) on goods purchased online. A senior officer said the draft will be submitted to the government for consideration.
Former Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had announced in the legislative assembly last year that “goods purchased through online shopping and delivered to consumers through courier services or agents or interstate stage carriages would be taxed.” The government had thereafter asked the department to expedite the process of framing the rules of the Act.
“Online sites have become popular one-stop shopping destinations. They earn in crores of rupees but fail to pay a share of their earnings to the state government. Imposing the entry tax on these sites would increase revenue for the state,” the officer said, admitting consumers could in turn have to spend extra bucks on purchases.
States like Tamil Nadu and Kerala have already imposed tax on online purchases of goods.
In the financial year 2014-15, the Commercial Taxes Department earned Rs 2,550 crore through VAT, entry and luxury taxes. Goa is expecting to earn more revenue from the new tax in the current financial year.
