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Over 2 lakh SME sweet shops in Bengal protest against GST
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SME Times News Bureau | 22 Aug, 2017
In what could be a bitter experience for the sweet-loving residents of
West Bengal, over two lakh sweet shops, celebrated for their
"rosogollas" and "mishti doi", across the state went on a 24-hour strike
on Monday to protest imposition of five per cent GST.
Monday's
protest is expected to cause an estimated loss of Rs 100 crore to the
industry employing around 10 lakh people directly.
From north to south Kolkata, and its suburbs, most of the popular large, medium and small sweet outlets were shut.
Iconic
sweetmakers K.C. Das, whose erstwhile owner Nabin Chandra Das is widely
regarded as the inventor of the rosogolla in 1868, said all its four
outlets here were closed.
"Business loss estimated to be around Rs 2 to 3 lakh in total for the day," K.C. Das' Director Dhiman Das said.
Sweet shop owners have also resolved to strengthen the agitation against the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in days to come.
"We
are not comfortable with GST. From August 24 to 26, we will also
observe a hunger strike. If the Centre doesn't pay heed to our demands
of exemption from the tax, then we will intensify our protest," West
Bengal Mistanna Byabasayee Samity's General Secretary R.K Paul told
IANS.
"If you calculate on a daily basis, Rs 5,000 is the
approximate sale per shop. If two lakh shops are shut on a day, then the
loss is around Rs 100 crore per day," he said.
Factor in 10 to 15 per cent profit from the sales and establishment plus employee cost per day, pointed out Paul.
While
the industry is directly responsible for the livelihoods of at least 10
lakh people, Paul said, there is no estimate of those living-off the
business indirectly.
"We need accessories as well. For example,
paper (for packaging) and printing presses etc. So you can see many
people are dependent on the industry indirectly as well," he said.
Elaborating
on their opposition to GST, he said the Rs 50,000 crore industry in
Bengal is "hugely different" from the sweet-making ventures in other
states, in terms of the products being "highly perishable", a category
exempted from the new tax regime.
"We deal with highly perishable
goods. Our sweets are very delicate and have a shelf life of 24 hours.
In other states, the kind of sweets they produce is different and can
stay on for longer. We were exempted from VAT. The Centre has exempted
highly perishable goods from GST. We don't understand why they included
our sweets in GST if they are highly perishable," he said.
Contacted
by IANS, the 1885-established Balaram Mullick and Radharaman Mullick
sweetmakers also said that they are participating in the strike.
"Our
shop is unofficially open to cater to the orders/deliveries placed in
advance. We are transacting business with only those who are scheduled
to collect their pre-ordered items today (Monday). Customers who are
coming in for regular purchases are being turned away," a salesperson
said.
Confectioners said what has added to their woes is that
their products fall under all slabs -- 28 per cent for any sandesh/sweet
with chocolate in it, five per cent for rosogolla and sandesh, and 12
per cent for mishti doi.
In addition to the evergreen traditional
recipes of rosogolla, mishit doi and sandesh, Bengal sweetmeat makers
have adapted to modern tastes by incorporating ingredients like
chocolates, fruit pulps like those of mangoes, kiwis and blueberries and
extending their repertoire with innovations like ice-cream sandesh and
kulfi sandesh.
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