Hyderabad, Jan 27: Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Friday found fault in the agitation taken up by cloth merchants for withdrawal of Value Added Tax (VAT) which was imposed on their sector. 

The leaders of cloth merchants Association met the Chief Minister in the Camp Office demanding withdrawal of VAT on cloths (textiles) business. 

Negatively responding to their demand, the Chief Minister questioned them as to how far it was just the cloth merchants , who were making Rs 10 crores business, agitating against the tax. There would be not tax burden on the cloth merchants, whose turn over would be less than Rs 5 lakhs. Moreover, one percent tax would collected from the cloth merchants whose turn over would be more than Rs 40 lakhs. The cloth merchants should keep it in the mind, he suggested. 

Mr Kiran Kumar Reddy made it clear that the officials concerned have been directed not to harass the merchants in the name of collection of VAT.

With this, the cloth merchants returned from CM Camp Office with disappointment.