Monday, February 21 2005 12:20 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Traders today (Feb 21, 2005) staged nationwide demonstrations against the Value-Added Tax (VAT) slated to be implemented by all States from April 1, 2005.

Traders' associations, led by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), staged demonstrations with an anti-VAT tableau carrying message of the adverse impact of VAT, CAIT secretary general Praveen Khandelwal said, after initiating the demonstration at New Delhi's prime shopping centre, Palika Bazaar. He said that the demonstrations against VAT were being held all over India.

The traders have also threatened to go on a hunger strike on March 17 if their demands of making VAT trader-friendly were not met, he said.

The traders will also launch a "VAT-Rathyatra," on March 1 all over the nation to protest against the "harsh" clauses in the VAT white paper, he added.