SAD, BJP slam AAP for ‘tax terrorism', threaten agitaion

Time of India

22-04-2025

Chandigarh: The Shiromani Akali Dal (
SAD
) and the
BJP
on Tuesday made scathing attacks on the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab. They accused the AAP-led govt of unleashing "
tax terrorism
" and claimed that the Bhagwant Mann-led dispensation was planning to "loot" the state's traders by conducting raids on them. Both parties warned of launching a statewide agitation over the issue.
In a post on X, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal said the AAP and CM Mann were "seeking to destroy the small and medium traders by forcing taxation officers across Punjab to conduct 1,000 raids every month to extort money to fund their excesses".
"The @Akali_Dal_ appeals to traders to unite and oppose this official goondaism which will vitiate the business environment in the state. We will also launch a public movement against this drive and demand that the 'Rahat' scheme, launched by the Akali govt, is implemented to end Inspector Raj," said Sukhbir.
He further said: "The 'Rahat' scheme allowed traders to pay between Rs 5,000 tax for a turnover of Rs 25 lakh and Rs 20,000 tax for a turnover of Rs 1 crore and restricted the entry of Tax officials in business premises."
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
People Aged 50-85 With No Life Insurance Could Get This
Reassured
Get Quote
Undo
He added: "This is needed to safeguard the trading community which is already facing the brunt of criminal gangs and extortions."
Terming the govt move "shocking", Punjab BJP general secretary Anil Sarin said: "The Punjab govt, under the Aam Aadmi Party, has devised a plan to loot the state's traders to cover the expenses of its leaders from Delhi. The AAP govt is now using the taxation department as a tool for extortion."
Talking to mediapersons, Sarin alleged: "On April 18, the AAP govt issued a new directive to ensure that each Excise and Taxation Officer (ETO) conducts four inspections every month and resolves them within the same timeframe. This would result in around 1,200 inspections across the state each month. If an average penalty of Rs 8 lakh is imposed per inspection, the monthly collection would total Rs 96 crore and annually a staggering Rs 1,152 crore."
He added: "This would undoubtedly lead to arbitrary actions by officials and promote a culture of Inspector Raj and open corruption." Sarin also alleged: "The govt has unofficially instructed officers that every inspection must yield fines of Rs 8 to Rs 10 lakh. This isn't merely harassment of traders, but direct robbery of their hard-earned money."
He warned: "If the govt does not roll back this directive and stops forcibly extorting traders, the BJP will launch a statewide agitation in protest."
Senior SAD leader N K Sharma also held a press conference on the issue and said SAD would go to each and every city and expose the "goonda tax" being collected by the AAP govt.
He appealed to the traders to converge at Ludhiana West to confront the AAP during the ongoing campaigning for the byelection. Sharma said the party president, Sukhbir Singh Badal, would lead the 'dharnas'.
Sharma added: "We will not let Punjabi traders be subjected to tax terrorism and be treated as criminals."
Pointing out that 1,200 raids in one year would result in a total collection of more than Rs 1,100 crore annually, the SAD leader asked: "How can anyone do business in Punjab in such a situation?"
He said traders were already facing lawlessness, criminal gangs, and extortions. "This is why they have already announced to invest Rs 2.35 lakh crore in Uttar Pradesh and are also investing in a troubled state like Jammu and Kashmir," Sharma added.
MSID:: 120520454 413 |