Delhi Assembly passes VAT Amendment Bill, which increases the upper limit of VAT from 20 per cent to 30 per cent. The items that could be impacted by a higher rate are mostly petroleum and tobacco related. They are naptha, aviation turbine fuel, spirit, gasoline, furnace oil, wax (except candle wax), any mixture and combination of above products, foreign liquor and Indian-made foreign liquor, country liquor, narcotics, molasses, rectified spirit, lottery tickets, brake fluid, tobacco gutkha, unprocessed tobacco, bidis and tobacco used in making bidis and hooka tobacco, aerated drinks and watches costing above Rs 5,000.


Opposition leader, BJP's Vijender Gupta (pictured) said the bill amounted to "cheating" the people and stages a walkout from the Assembly after tearing the VAT amendment papers.