With railway stations shut down for passengers due to Covid-19 lockdown, the Akhil Bharatiya Railway Khan Paan Licence Welfare Association (ABKPLWA) has sought intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal seeking relief on license fees of the vendors involved in catering needs to passengers at railway stations.
“As all small licensees have deposited considerable amount of license fee, to provide assistance to them, it is urged to take immediate decision and issue instructions to forego license fee and 18 per cent GST periodically as per contracts, “ said Rajinder Gupta, ABKPLWA president, in a letter to the Railway Minister.
Gupta said since Finance Ministry has taken a note of the fact that likely intensity of coronavirus disease necessitates mobilisation of financial help to needy people and announced various relief packages for weaker sections and daily wage workers in these days of gravest crisis, the vendors association of Indian railways network too seeks measures to help lakhs of people associated with this business.
“While Ministry of Railways has granted relaxation in demurrage-wharfage and Ministry of Finance for payment of wages to outsourced persons it is high time to forego license fee as well as GST of small catering vending licenses for March 2020 onwards so that they may be able to help lakhs of families of railways catering vending vendors, “ Gupta said.
He informed Rail Ministry that soon after the lockdown the association issued advisory to all small licencees and their vendors working over Indian Railways platforms network to take all precautionary measures.
“Since complete closure of Railways has been declared there is absolute shut down of catering vending stalls, trolleys, trays and lakhs of vendors’ workers and their families are affected so financial benefits extended to all will be appreciated,” the letter said.