Shops and commercial establishments in the Union Territory of Puducherry are closed today following the call for 24-hour Hartal given by the Traders' Association. The Hartal was announced to press the government for withdrawal of Value Added Tax, VAT, in the Union Territory. Maintaining that the VAT had hit the business in Puducherry severely, the Chamber of Commerce urged the Chief Minister Rangaswamy to withdraw the same. However, since no announcement was made in the budget, they called for the hartal.