There is good news for many in the chemical manufacturing business in Gujarat, both in textile and pharmaceutical sectors. The state commercial tax department has agreed to pull down Value Added Tax (VAT) rates for 70 odd chemicals from 15 per cent to 5. The new rates will come into effect immediately.

Besides this, the state government, via a notification, has informed that a 4 per cent entry tax on all stainless steel products would be imposed for any further import of materials from outside Gujarat. Entry tax for silk yarn has been withdrawn

"Six months ago, the state government had raised VAT rates from 5 to 15 per cent which affected a lot of new investments and existing business in textile and pharmaceutical outside Gujarat. This was a wake-up call for the state government and now the rates have been brought at par with those prevalent in all states," says president of Gujarat Sales Tax Bar Association (GSTBA) Mehul Gandhi.