On Tuesday, a meeting was convened in the presence of Vinay Pratap Singh, serving as Chandigarh’s Deputy Commissioner and Excise & Taxation Commissioner. The meeting involved discussions with taxpayers engaged in the sale of school uniforms, books, and stationery. The issues discussed included the failure to issue proper bills in accordance with GST law and concerns regarding the appropriate pricing of school books.
Vinay Pratap Singh instructed excise and taxation officers to ensure strict adherence to bill issuance procedures and impose maximum penalties on defaulters. Chandigarh’s Secretary of Education, Purva Garg, emphasized that directives have already been issued to school authorities, instructing them not to endorse any specific shops for the purchase of books, uniforms, stationery, and other items. Schools failing to comply with these instructions will face appropriate action.
Simultaneously, Chandigarh Mayor Sarabjit Kaur wrote a letter on Tuesday to Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Banwarilal Purohit, urging him to dismantle the monopoly enjoyed by selective bookstores that supply books to a large number of students, thereby breaking the existing nexus.