» VAT Charges On Cell Phones Slashed From 14.5% To 5%
Smartphones VAT Charges Slashed From 14.5% To 5%
Minister T Harish Rao stated that the State government was offering the suitable compensations to the farmers for giving up their lands for development.
The prices of smartphones in Telangana are set to come down as the State Legislative Assembly today moved an amendment bill to cut Value Added Tax (VAT) charges on the product by a whopping 9.5%.
The Legislative Assembly adopted the VAT Amendment Bill - introduced by Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav - seeking to reduce VAT charges on cell phones, especially smartphones. The Bill was passed after a brief discussion, with Congress, BJP and TDP members welcoming the move.
Moving the Bill earlier, Yadav said the decision was taken by the government following the demonetization of the 500 and 1,000 rupee currency notes and also to encourage cashless transactions.
The government was also making efforts to ensure that the transition to digitization was smooth, and with reduction in VAT, the prices of cell phones in the State would come down to a convenient extent, he said.
Vemula Prashant Reddy, TRS member and Vice-Chairman of Mission Bhagiratha, participating in the discussion, complimented the government for the price cut and said that it was incumbent for every person to own a cell phone as the government was trying to promote digital transactions.