Friday, April 1 2005 11:08 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The trade bandh continued for the third day today (April 1, 2005) even as a majority of States switched over to pro-reforms Value Added Tax (VAT) in place of Sales Tax.

While the Empowered Committee on VAT stuck to its stand on implementation of VAT in 20 States, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) is observing the day as a "black day" for the trading community and continued its stir in many parts of the country.

While VAT replaced Sales Tax and a plethora of local taxes in 20 States, sources said Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttaranchal, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and Meghalaya have decided not to join the league.

Meghalaya will implement VAT after 4-5 days, VAT panel sources said.

Wholesale markets will remain closed today.

"We are continuing our strike against VAT, which will keep prices high and affect the poor," CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said before staging a demonstration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.

The three-day strike called by CAIT affected wholesale trade although it was business as usual for retailers.

The bandh affected trade in Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Jammu & Kashmir on the first two days.

It evoked a mixed response in Delhi, Bihar, Assam, Orissa and Punjab. Traders in Tripura and Karnataka joined the strike yesterday (Mar 31, 2005) while there is unlikely to be any response from traders in Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Goa and Meghalaya.