Onion prices ease by Rs 5-10/kg following IT raids on traders

New Delhi, Jan 7 (PTI) Onion prices on Friday eased by Rs
5-10 a kg in major metros following raids on traders by income
tax authorities in several Indian states like Uttar Pradesh,
Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir.
As the income tax officers were swooping down on big
onion traders, Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar is believed
to have told state Chief Secretaries through a video
conference to put the local taxes like octroi and mandi levies
on hold for three months on vegetables.
The retail prices of onions declined by Rs 5-10 per kg to
Rs 60 in metros across the country, both because of the heat
on traders and reports of beginning of fresh arrivals of crop
from Gujarat.
The Centre finally agreed to compensate agri-cooperatives
Nafed and NCCF for losses on selling the vegetable at Rs 35
per kg in Delhi.
Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee wrote to Chief
Ministers to crack down on hoarders to ensure smooth supply of
essential items from farm gate to retail customers.
Food inflation has touched a high level in more than a
year at 18.32 per cent for the week ended December 25.
"A larger part of price rise is due to the widening gap
between the wholesale and retail prices and the growing demand
for these products due to rising income levels," Mukherjee
pointed out.
I-T officials raided wholesale onion dealers across UP.
"The raids were conducted in Lucknow, Varanasi, Kanpur,
Ghaziabad, Bareilly, Meerut and other places of the state at
main dealers of onion," a senior IT official told PTI.
Similar operations were carried out at over 10 wholesale
merchants across Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana and
Chandigarh in a move to check hoarding.
"The survey operations, which commenced yesterday, are
primarily aimed to check profiteering," a senior I-T official
said in Chandigarh.
In Tamil Nadu too, traders came under the IT scanner with
the department carrying out state-wide "survey operations".
"In this operation, ten big vegetable traders are covered
and they are being questioned about the profit earned in their
business especially due to increase in prices and investment
made by them in the recent times," S Ravichandran, Additional
Director, I-T (Investigation), Chennai, said.
Meanwhile, India has initiated talks with Pakistan
seeking resumption of onion imports through land route of
Wagah border where 300 trucks were stopped yesterday from
crossing over to the Indian side.
"We have initiated talks and we are hopeful that we will
find a solution," External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said.
In a retaliatory move, Amritsar-based exporters refused
to send to Pakistan trucks carrying tomatoes and other
vegetables. PTI