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Traders up in arms against 12% GST on textiles, footwear
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SME Times News Bureau | 25 Nov, 2021
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said that instead of
simplifying and rationalising the GST tax structure, the GST Council has
made it as "most complicated GST law in India over the world" and much
against the GST structure shown to CAIT by the then Finance Minister
Arun Jaitley.
CAIT National President B.C. Bhartia and Secretary
General Praveen Khandelwal said that in the cotton textile industry
there was no inverted tax structure, then why fabric and other cotton
textile goods were brought under the 12 per cent bracket.
Even in
the man-made textile industry, at the stage of manufacturing garments,
sarees and all types of made ups, there was no inverted tax issue.
Without having any understanding of the stages of the textile industry
such a harsh decision will be a regressive step.
The Central
Government's notification to increase the rate of GST on basic items
like textiles and footwear from 5 per cent to 12 per cent is being
opposed all over the country, including Delhi, and the CAIT has decided
to launch a mega agitation across the country against such
arbitrariness.
The agitation will be led by two important trade
associations of cloth trade, namely Delhi Hindustani Mercantile
Association and Federation of Surat Textile Association (FOSTA) under
the umbrella of CAIT. Apart from textiles and footwear, trade
organisations of all types of trade, workers, employees associated with
them will also participate in it.
Bhartia and Khandelwal said,
"Roti, Kapda & Makaan are three basic things of life. Bread has
already become very expensive due to high rise in prices, buying a house
is beyond the reach of a common man and the cloth, which was
accessible, has also been made expensive by the GST Council.
"After
all, what kind of treatment is being done to the common man of the
country. In this matter not only the Central Government but also the
State Governments are completely guilty because these decisions have
been taken unanimously in the GST Council and no one has opposed such an
irrational decision," CAIT said.
They have demanded that the
increased rate of GST on clothes and footwear should be withdrawn
immediately. They said that retail trade in the country has already been
destroyed due to Covid and now that the business was resuming on track
from this year, the increase in the GST rates will be the last nail in
the coffin of the trade, CAIT said.
Bhartia and Khandelwal said
that according to sources, it has been learnt that the Fitment Committee
of GST has recommended an increase in the GST rate on gold jewelry from
3 per cent to 5 per cent and the current tax rate in GST 5 per cent has
been recommended to 7 per cent, 12 per cent to 14 per cent and 18 per
cent to 20 per cent. They said that this proposed increase in tax rate
is highly irrational and unjustified and is clearly arbitrary action by
the fitment committee.
In the matter of increase in clothes and
footwear, no consultation was done with any stakeholder of the country.
GST is being distorted continuously and the concept of "One Nation-One
Tax" has been made a joke.
They said that traders across the
country have mobilised against this unilateral and arbitrary increase
against which the traders across the country are in great anger and
resentment.
To decide about the future strategy of the
agitation, the CAIT has convened a video conference on November 28 with
the leaders of textile and footwear trade across the country, which will
also be joined by prominent trade leaders of all States.
Bhartia
and Khandelwal said that it is very unfortunate that the GST which was
talked and explained to CAIT by the then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley,
who by soliciting the support of trading community on June 4, 2017 was a
simple tax structure having minimal compliance, but has been blown up
and replaced by a very complex GST tax system. Prime Minister Narendra
Modi's announcement of Ease of Doing Business and One Nation-One Tax is
being openly ridiculed, CAIT said.
CAIT said the officers have
become autocratic and either the command of the responsible leaders has
become lose or they are also involved in torturing the traders. Traders
across the country will no longer tolerate this situation.
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