The Uttarakhand government today announced a surcharge of 0.5-1% on select consumer goods and day-to-day food items like dal, sugar and rice, which would come into effect from tomorrow.
In a notification, the state government said that a surcharge of 0.5% would be imposed on items where the Value Added Tax (VAT) is 4% and 1% on items with 12.5% VAT.
The new surcharge food would be levied on essential items like dal, sugar, rice and various FMCG items, making them dearer.
When contacted, state media advisory committee chairman Devendra Bhasin said the surcharge was imposed since the state government was facing a heavy burden of the Sixth Pay panel.
The finance department is hoping to generate Rs100-150 crore through the new surcharge.
The people in the state will have to bear additional burden of the surcharge on food items, already under strain after the fuel price hike announced in the Union Budget two days back.
Seen as a move to earn extra revenue in the face of acute financial crunch on account of Rs4,000 crore outgo that the state would have to face due to the recommendations of the
Sixth Pay Commission. The state is trying to generate more revenue for the ballooning Non-plan expenditure.
The move has come under severe criticism from various quarters. The budget session of the Vidhan Sabha is slated to begin from March 8.
