The Uttar Pradesh government has assured industrialists in Greater Noida that the taxation regime for industries in the state will be brought at par with that in the neighbouring states to boost industrialization in the region.

The Greater Noida chapter of the Indian Industries Association (IIA) was given this assurance in its meeting with small and medium enterprises minister Bhagwati Saran Gangwar after IIA had put forward a memorandum of their demands. It has also been informed about setting up a dedicated facilitation centre for Greater Noida industries at the District Industries Centre (DIC) in Sector 20, Noida.

IIA had repeatedly told the government that industries in Greater Noida had been languishing due to the high rate of taxes. "This assurance has come after we put it in the meeting that industries have been shifting base to other states because of the higher tax regime in Uttar Pradesh," said president of IIA (Greater Noida), S P Sharma. "Minister of state Abhishek Mishra has assured us that the government would revise the taxation regime in Uttar Pradesh to either bring it at par with or lower than that of other states after a study. We have been assured that the revision would be made in a month's time," said Sharma.

The state government had imposed an entry tax on products like paper, burdening around 250 printing and publishing units in the region. The high rate of value-added tax (VAT) in the state has forced many industries to shift base to the neighbouring states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

Industrialists say a model state like Goa be created by reducing VAT on fuel that would bring down transportation costs. IIA has also appealed for reduction in power tariff for the industrial sector.