The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) Jammu on Thursday termed the move of J&K Administration to waive off 50 percent passenger tax chargeable on various vehicles for one year as progressive and demanded that same should be abolished in J&K UT as it is not applicable in other Union Territories of the country.
The meeting held here today at the Chamber House was chaired by President CCI Jammu, Arun Gupta and attended among others by Sr. Vice President, Anil Gupta; Jr. Vice President, Rajeev Gupta; Secretary General, Gaurav Gupta; Secretary, Rajesh Gupta and Treasurer, Rajesh Gupta welcomed the recent decisions headed by LG Manoj Sinha to waive off 50 percent Passenger Tax Chargeable on various vehicles for one year from 1st April 2020 to 31st March 2021 asserting that the same will address genuine demand of operators of commercial vehicles.
The Jammu Chamber appealed to the government to abolish the passenger tax once and for all as the same is not applicable in other UTs of the country.
The Chamber also appreciated the LG Manoj Sinha for constituting a 3-tier committee to demarcate “Gair Mumkin Khad” especially in 3 districts including Jammu, Kathua and Samba and for seeking report within three months. “This will give a major relief to the people who are suffering because of erroneous/ misleading entries of such water bodies in their revenue records”, the meeting said adding that the LG’s initiative in this regard is quite appreciable and Chamber thanks him for showing magnanimity over the issue. The CCI members anticipated that by redefining the Gair Mumkin Khads, the avenues for investments as desired by the LG Sinha will take a big leap as confusion over the issue was marring the scope of the same over the last many years.
After threadbare discussion on the impact of continuous lockdowns in different forms in the UT of J&K, Chamber made a fervent appeal to J&K Administration to revisit the decision under the light of PM Modi’s suggestion that the restrictions on account of COVID should not hinder the business activity and people’s livelihood. Arun Gupta appealed to the J&K Administration to completely lift all the restrictions which are hampering the business activity in Jammu Province as the same has become significant to ensure sustenance of businessmen fraternity in the region. He said that COVID cases have also started showing considerable downfall therefore it is needful now to make an end to weekend lockdowns and give the businessmen a fair chance to earn livelihood and the trade to come back on rails once again.
