The Union government announced five rupees hike in petrol prices on Saturday. The hike will be financially detrimental for people in Punjab as they will have to burn a bigger hole in their pockets for petrol.

While planning to levy green cess on power generation, Gujarat Finance Minister Vajubhai Vala proposed to increase the Value Added Tax (VAT) on tobacco, mobile phones in the state budget presented on Friday.

The Jharkhand Government imposed a value added tax (VAT) of four per cent on blankets, towels, napkins and handkerchiefs eliciting immediate sharp reaction from Opposition parties

Uttar Pradesh Petroleum Traders Association has requested Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to reduce VAT rates on petroleum products and bring it at par with Delhi and Haryana.

The Madhya Pradesh government has decided to withdraw Value Added Tax (VAT) on mobile recharge vouchers. The state government would soon bring in an ordinance to withdraw the tax.

In highly volatile movements, the BSE benchmark Sensex on Friday plunged nearly 210 points as the government's budgetary proposals to raise taxes dampened the market sentiment, even as global stock markets were firm.

The Delhi VAT department has detected large scale tax evasion in shipment of goods through fake Tax Identification Number (TIN). The department has exposed 402 cases where transporters have dispatched goods (bilty delivery) all across India through bogus TIN numbers.

The Delhi government has collected Rs 11,283 crore from Value Added Tax between April and January in the current fiscal, registering a growth of 14 percent over the corresponding period of 2010-11.

The recent decision by Goa state government to slash petrol rate by Rs 11 by cutting VAT rate deserves applause. The initiative remains an exception among all states in the nation. Common man is burdened with the soaring prices of fast depleting source of energy. Taking such steps is like giving breather to consumers who are struggling with the rising inflation.

Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Friday said the country's wheat production could exceed the estimate of record 88.31 million tonnes in the current crop year ending June.