The UT is also considering corona cess on liquor.(Representational Photo)

The UT Administration on Wednesday hiked the VAT on petrol and diesel by five percent. Now petrol will be Rs 68.62 per litre and diesel will be Rs 62.02 per litre.

According to the administration, new rate of VAT on petrol is “22.45% or fixed rate of Rs 12.58 per litre whichever is higher” and on diesel it is “14.02 % or fixed rate of Rs 7.63 per litre whichever is higher”. The earlier rates of VAT on petrol and diesel were 17.45% and 9.02% respectively.

With the increase in VAT rates, the selling price of petrol will be Rs 68.62 per litre and diesel Rs 62.02 on the basis of Wednesday’s prevailing selling price and these changes will come into effect from the midnight of May 6.

With the hike in the VAT rate, the Administration aims to get additional VAT revenue of approximately Rs 100 crore in this financial year 2020-21.

The UT is also considering corona cess on liquor. A detailed plan is being chalked out.

Home delivery of books permitted

UT Administrator V P Singh Badnore approved delivery of books at home by book-sellers, so that there is no over-crowding in shops. He advised the parents to ensure that the books are sanitised before being given to kids.

Asymptomatic and mild cases

All new asymptomatic and mild cases of COVID-19 will now be sent to Ayurvedic Hospital, Sector 46, Chandigarh. The critical cases will continue to be at PGI.

Vegetable and fruit wholesalers

Vegetable and fruit wholesale traders will be shifted to Sector 17 ISBT temporarily. The Municipal Commissioner explained that the arrangements for temporary shifting of fruits and vegetable market from Sector 26 to ISBT, Sector 17, have been finalised. He also mentioned that specific vendors for specific sectors have been assigned and their medical screening and ID cards distribution has already been done.

‘No checking of labour’

Being in close proximity to Bapu Dham Colongy, a hotspot of Chandigarh, industrialists said that some of the labourers from Bapu Dham Colony itself reported to work on Wednesday and there was no checking or screening at any entry point of the Industrial Area.

Banks can apply for stamp paper online

SPIC has launched an online application exclusively for scheduled banks to apply online for issuance of stamp paper from sampark centre. This application will help in reducing face-to-face interaction at sampark centre to the minimum and will also reduce cumbersome process for issuance of stamp papers.

Allow us home delivery or takeaways: Hoteliers to UT

As red zone Chandigarh opened Sukhna Lake and Rose Garden for people, hoteliers and cafe owners across the city urged the administration to open cafes with social distancing. They urged that hotels be allowed to do home delivery or takeaways of cooked food as the hospitality business was running in losses. A letter written by the Chandigarh Hospitality Association to Finance Secretary A K Sinha said that staggered opening be allowed.

“Our Industry may initially be allowed to serve via ‘ Home Delivery and Take Away’ along with opening of limited food and beverage services like A’la CarteRestaurants/Bars/Lounges/Sweet & Coffee Shops with cap on maximum sitting ensuring social distancing as per guidelines of MoHFW as well as accommodation services as a first step towards reopening. This could be followed by opening of other balance services,” said Ankit Gupta, president of Chandigarh Hospitality Association.

While speaking to The Indian Express, Gupta said, “Our main stress is that hospitality has many segments (accommodation, banqueting, dine in, clubbing & home delivery). Usually the government is reluctant to open our industry as they feel services like clubbing, banqueting are not advisable right now. This is why we have requested only for home delivery and A’la’Carte (to order) restaurant/ bars with cap on maximum guests while following social distancing.” As the hospitality business is in losses as per the hotel association they said they have also demanded bar license fee for the hotel owners be collected on a quarterly basis.