By IANS,
Lucknow : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav Monday said that the Samajwadi Party government did not favour FDI in retail as this would harm the interests of small traders.
Unless a consensus is arrived at amongst the trader community, no decision would be taken on FDI, he added.
Yadav also noted that it was the earlier Samajwadi Party government which had opposed VAT.
He also said that to benefit the traders, the state government has also abolished octroi in the state.
From the first week of January 2013, the chief minister said, all work related to commercial tax would be made available online so that traders will not have to run around.
The government was also examining the possibility of entry tax, he added and said that the state government would not tolerate exploitation and harassment of traders in any part of the state and stringent action would be taken against all those involved in any such acts.