Companies which owe more than Rs1 crore in VAT

Feb 28, 2012

Close to 350 firms, including some of the leading corporates, owe in excess of Rs12,500 crore as outstanding Value Added Tax (VAT) dues to the state government, figures provided in the state assembly show.

The amount includes the pending sales tax dues of Rs8,277 crore which Essar Oil Limited owes to the state government. Essar Oil has approached Supreme Court in the matter.

In a written reply to a question by Porbandar MLA Arjun Modhwadia, finance minister Vaju Vala said there were 344 firms each of which owed more than Rs1 crore in VAT dues to the state government. “The total amount for these 344 firms works out to the tune of Rs12,520 crore,” Vala said. Modhwadia had sought details of firms and units that owe VAT dues of Rs1 crore or more.

Besides Essar Oil, the companies which owe more than Rs1 crore in VAT dues include Reliance Industries, Adani Enterprises, ONGC, ABB Limited, Biotor, Essar Steel, Welspun India, Dishman Pharma, Pepsico India (Holdings), Saurashtra Cement and Asian Paints. Vala informed that steps had been initiated under Gujarat Sales Tax Act, Gujarat VAT Act and Land Revenue Act to recover the outstanding dues.

Ahmedabad is home to 103 of these firms, followed by Valsad with 47, Kutch with 30, Vadodara 28, Surat 22, Bhavnagar 20 and Rajkot 15. Vala also said that the recovery was not being made on account of various reasons due to stay orders, proceedings before Debt Recovery Tribunal, BIFR, or companies going into liquidation, among others.

Essar Projects to commission Ro Ro facility to connect Saurasthra with south Gujarat

The state government kicked off the commissioning of Ro Ro facility between Gogha in Saurashtra and Dahej in South Gujarat. The state authority Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) awarded contract to build the Ro-Ro Ferry Service to Essar Projects. The project is scheduled to be completed in 15 months and will cost Rs 225 crore. On Wednesday, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the Ro Ro facility between Gogha and Dahej.

Proposed Ro-Ro Ferry Service will reduce distance between Gogha & Dahej by 360km land-route to a 31km sea-route. The government of Gujarat and Essar Project are claiming that the project will reduce 80% distance besides saving in fuel costs and travel-time.

Commenting on the project, Essar Projects president & CEO Alwyn Bowden said, "It is a matter of pride for us to associate with this prestigious project. The vision of Gujarat to provide a strategic connectivity through this project will go a long way in boosting trade and industry in the region by substantially reducing travel time. Essar Projects can contribute to making this vision a reality with its four decades of experience in marine construction."

According to 'Origin Destination' survey conducted by GMB in November 2008 , a large number of passenger and cargo traffic is available and demonstrated a potential to develop a ferry service in the Gulf of Cambay. The strategic locations of Gogha and Dahej in the Gulf of Cambay offers the planned ferry service a great potential to develop, given the easy crossing of the Gulf.

In order to keep up with the recent advances in technology and ship size, the Ro-Ro terminals are planned so that RO-RO vessels of larger sizes could load and unload at the terminals, read the media statement issued by Essar Group.

In order to develop this service, the government of Gujarat has constituted a "Gujarat Coastal Area Development Board (GCADB). This project, initiated by the GMB, is part of the government of Gujarat's effort to develop a 1,600-km coastline as a means to develop trade and transport between Southern Gujarat and Kutch.

The GMB along with the GCADB will primarily focus on tourism, forest & environment, fisheries development, industrial development and natural calamity management.

The scope of Essar Projects contract includes designing and construction of Ro Ro Service terminals at both Gogha and Dahej. It will constructing an approach bund of total 609 meters, of which 497 meters will be at Gogha and 112 metres at Dahej besides constructing an approach trestle of total 562 meters at two locations among others.