TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: The Goa government Monday tabled the Goa Value Added Tax (Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2013, the Goa Tax on Infrastructure (First Amendment) Bill 2013 and Goa Entertainment Tax (amendment) Bill 2013 which either seek to boost the economy or raise revenues in keeping with the government’s stated purposes.
The major highlight of the first bill is to make Goa a shopping destination by reimbursing VAT paid by tourists on purchases and by airlines operating on domestic sector on Aviation Turbine Fuel. Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had announced earlier that at the Cabinet decision last week his government had decided that Value Added Tax (VAT) on expensive goods bought in the State would be reimbursed to foreign tourists initially, during their return. This would be done at the airport from this October.
The Bill has taxed person organising or conducting exhibition or event or programme.
“Any person organising or conducting exhibition or any event or programme either for sale of goods or for promoting goods for sale, by providing stalls or space to other persons or dealers under the banner of specific name or otherwise or under a common roof or otherwise shall be liable to pay tax on all taxable sales…” the Bill states.
The Goa Tax on Infrastructure (First Amendment) Bill 2013 seeks to tax institutional buildings other than educational, buildings and structures for transportation, telecommunication, farm houses and dance floors. The third bill ~the Goa Entertainment Tax (amendment) Bill 2013, would introduce entertainment tax on ticketed sales at events drawing crowds of over 2,000 people
The bill will be taken up for discussion and voting among which The Indian Stamp (Goa Amendment) Bill, 2013 also figures.
Mining leases will now have to pay separate stamp duty if the Indian Stamp (Goa Amendment) Bill, 2013, which was also tabled for discussion and voting, is passed in the Goa Assembly.
The Bills seeks to amend section 3A of the Act so as to fix separate stamp duty for the mining lease for Manganese, Bauxite and mining lease for more than one mineral.
The Bill further seeks to insert section 10A in the Act to enable the stock exchange or association to collect the stamp duty by deducting the same from trading members account and transfer the same to the Government Treasury or Sub-Treasury. This Bill will interestingly generate additional revenue as no financial implications are involved.
Under the Goa Tax on Infrastructure (First Amendment) Bill 2013, institutional buildings other then educational, buildings and structures for transportation, telecommunication, farm houses and dance floors would be taxed.
For tax purpouses Goa has been divided into three categories: (A) Coastal Panchayat areas and Panjim, Mapusa, Ponda, Vasco and Margao; (B) Census Towns and Panchayats adjoining these areas and alos including other Municipal areas. The third category which includes other Panchayat areas.
The Infrastructure Tax for residential zones or residential developments will be Rs 200 per sqm in all the three categories. The Tax for Industrial developments will however remain Rs 250 per sqm in all the three categories.
The taxes for Commercial zones and commercial developments however would be different for all the three categories. (A) category: Rs 850 per sq mt, (B) Category: Rs 600 and (C) Category: Rs 400.
As far as agriculture and such structures is concern, 25 percent of rate applicable to residential buildings in all three categories would be taxed and . 50 percent of the rate applicable to industrial building would be applicable to agro-based industrial buildings including in the agro-tourism sector.
The Bill also states that since stilt, basement, mezzanine, balconies, passages, lobbies, stair cases, are an integral part of the building it was necessary to bring the said area under the tax net’.
While the Goa Tax on entry of Goods (Amendment) Bill, 2013 seeks to substitute the words “Goa Sales Tax Act 1964 (Act 4 of 1964)” with the words “Goa Value Added Tax Added Tax Act, 2005 (Act 9 of 2005)” since the former is repealed with the implementation of the Goa Value Added Tax.
Entertainment will get costlier as State government on Monday introduced the Goa Entertainment Tax (amendment) Bill 2013 according to which entertainment tax would be charged on ticketed sales at events having an audience of over 2,000 people.
Casino goers too will have to pay a huge fine if found without an entry ticket. She/he will be slapped with penalty ten times of the entry fee charged along with a casino operator as proposed in the Bill.
As per the Bill, the issue of pre-authenticated tickets as presently applicable to casinos entry fees, has been extended to discotheques, boat cruises, river cruises, night clubs, dance performances, musical performances, theatrical performances including cultural programmes and ballets.
The Bill was tabled on the Floor of the House by Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar. The mechanism to monitor sale of tickets to big events will be done through commercial tax department. The Bill makes it mandatory for the organisers to obtain prior permission where the crowd capacity exceeds 2,000 persons, except in cases of marriages and religious ceremonies form the commissioner of commercial tax department.
Event management companies will have to deposit the entertainment tax payable on the estimated ticketed sales in advance.
