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