Vendor: reduce market fees

MARKET vendor Ambika Nand hopes the 2023-2024 National Budget will address market fee charges which vendors have not been paying since 2020.

“If they bring back the stall fees it will not be good for us,” he said.

“If they increase it, we will have to increase the prices of the vegetables.

“Keep the market stall fees at a reasonable price that we can afford and it does not affect our sales.”

He said the tax system should also be made simpler.

“They have the zero, nine per cent and 15 per cent tax system which is very confusing.

“And I hope that they don’t increase the VAT.

“A lot of people will be affected especially the poor.”

Market stall fees were waived by the previous government to assist vendors recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

During a national budget public consultation in the Western Division recently, Minister of Finance Professor Biman Prasad said the fees would be reviewed.