Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh announced to abolish 4 percent VAT on Bt cotton seed and would further request Union Government to compel Bt cotton companies to reduce seed prices.
Taxation Department officers considered Bt cotton seed as oilseed and imposed 4 percent VAT on it.
This increased the farmer's difficulties as they were already paying a high price of Rs 1,600 to buy a 450 gram pack of seed.
MLA Manpreet Singh Badal stated that as price of genuine seed was very high, farmers were forced to buy low cost spurious Bt cotton seed.
He sought ban of spurious Bt cotton seed being brought into the state.
He claimed that Punjab officers informed him that Gujarat was at the centre spurious Bt cotton seed supply to Punjab and Haryana based agents.
Capt Amarinder Singh asked the Agriculture Department to initiate certain steps to stop sale of spurious Bt cotton seed in the state.
Flying squads have been formed to conduct raid and check sale of spurious seed while district agriculture officers were instructed to be in contact with district administration and police authorities.
Farmers have been advised to ask for proper receipts and bills of sale while purchasing seeds.
A laboratory to test genuiness of Bt seed is proposed to be set up by the Union Government, sources said.
The State Agriculture Department would forward a project report for the proposed laboratory to Union Government.
He was not against Gujarat's hybrid cotton variety which Punjab farmers preferred, but wanted Punjab Agricultural University to approve it first before such varieties are sown.
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