Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service set to roll despite terrorist attack
Srinagar: The first bus link between Srinagar and Muzzafarabad rolls across the border today as the world watches. Pakistan sponsored terrorists have threatened to turn the bus service into a coffin on wheels.

But the Govt. of India is determined that the bus service will roll on, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh all set to flag off the bus today despite the security threat.

The bus will be flagged off at 11 am (IST) from Srinagar. Then via Baramullah and Uri, it is supposed to stop at Salamabad for lunch.

After this passengers will walk across the Kaman bridge to the other side and from there they would take the other buss to Muzzafarabad.

On the other side of the Line of Control, the bus will roll out off from Muzzafarabad at 9 am (IST). Then the bus goes to Jacoti, which is about 5 km from the LoC, and then to the Command Bridge. The passengers from Pakistan are supposed to cross over to India first.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi, External Affair Minister Natwar Singh, Home Minister Shivraj Patil and other Kashmiri leaders will also be present at the occasion.
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Govt. to phase out Central Sales Tax by April '07
New Delhi: Government will phase out Central Sales Tax by April 2007, a move that may prod BJP-ruled states to reconsider their decision of not implementing Value-Added Tax.

"CST is a barrier and Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers is working to remove it. We have determined that the rate of CST will come down to two per cent from April 1, 2006, before being ultimately phased out from April 2007," VAT panel secretary Ramesh Chandra said at a CII seminar here.

BJP-ruled states Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Jharkhand have said they will not implement VAT till government announces a clear roadmap to phase out CST.

With the phasing out of CST, government would work towards a system of integrated Goods and Service Tax, Chandra said. "This will be the next big thing after VAT in terms of tax reforms," he added.
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Traders list out VAT anomalies
New Delhi: Traders in different states have come up with a list of goods that will come under VAT, which shows that as of now only 50 items are covered under VAT in West Bengal, 200 in Punjab, 148 in Delhi while only 106 items are being taxed in Maharashtra.

Tax experts fear that consumers might end up paying at 12.5 per cent on all the other goods, which have not been notified by individual states but had been included in the white paper on VAT.

But the government says these are just teething troubles, which will be sorted out very soon. The VAT factor has also taken defence personnel by surprise as every thing in defence canteens from razors, toothpaste and weekly provisions will now cost the regular market price.

"CSD canteens will not be exempted from VAT but for High Commissions they will have to first pay VAT on procurement and then can claim the refunds," Ramesh Chandra, Secretary, Empowered Committee on VAT.

VAT is gradually proving to have a number of design flaws, which will need to be addressed soon before it can become an ideal tax regime for the entire country.
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FIEO and Uzbekistan sign MoU
New Delhi: The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan.

A release issued here by FIEO said the MoU has been signed to develop a better understanding among the two trade promotion organisations of the two countries.
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Oil companies seek hike in petro prices
New Delhi: With the unprecedented surge in international crude prices, domestic oil companies are seeking an upward revision in the prices of petrol and diesel, and the issue is likely to be taken up by the Union Cabinet, most probably on Friday.

The Petroleum Ministry has already submitted a Cabinet note on the issue.

Petrol and diesel prices in the country have not been changed since November 2004, except in Delhi, where some restructuring had taken place because of local taxes. According to the oil companies, this has lead to huge revenue loss as they are forced to sell at lower prices. Under-recoveries on this account by all oil companies were estimated at Rs20,000 crore in the last fiscal (2004-05).

The Indian basket of crude oil has seen an all-time high of $53 a barrel. The prices of petrol and diesel in the country are fixed on the principal of import parity. The Ministry has been maintaining that the pricing mechanism for petrol, diesel, PDS kerosene and domestic LPG during 2004-05 has attempted to balance the interests of various stakeholders: consumers, the government and oil companies.
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