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By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, March 27, 2017 : The Odisha government on Monday announced to do away with all border unified inter-state check gates except one at Nalda from April 1, 2017.

This was revealed by state finance minister Pradip Kumar Amat in the assembly. However, the check gate at Nalda bordering Jharkhand will be operated by the steel and mines department only for the purpose of minerals, he said.

The state government had set up as many as 22 check gates under Odisha Sales Tax Act, 1947. Besides, the check gates were functioning under Odisha Value Added Tax Act, 2004, with a view to prevent or check avoidance or evasion of tax, Amat said.

“The primary objective of setting up of check gates is to prevent or check avoidance or evasion of tax and not that of collection of tax,” Amat clarified.

Other line departments such as transport, forest and excise and others also use the unified check gates for enforcement purpose, Amat said adding that the government has received representations from different quarters that these check gates pose difficulties for movement of passenger and goods vehicles creating traffic jams.

More that rampant corruption and harassment by some outside elements at these check gates have been widely reported.

Noting that there has been a paradigm shift in administering taxes with the introduction of VAT in 2005 as compared to Sales Tax regime, Amat said all types of statutory forms like way bill, c-form and others are issued online.

E-way bills are prefilled way bills and the transaction through e-way bills are captured online in the VATIS and thus the information is available to the commercial tax organisation and be cross checked with return in the system itself, Amat said.

Amat, however, said that with technological changes, the mode of enforcement of various laws needs to be changed.

Stressing that the system of present static check gates checking every vehicle has outlived its uility, Amat observed, “This apart, under the proposed GST regime, establishment of check gates or barrier is not envisaged.”