Traders have evoked mixed feelings with the introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the city and the Kolhan region. Singhbhum Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) president Suresh Sonthalia welcomed the initiative and said he was confident about a new transition to the GST regime.
“We have welcomed the introduction of GST. The traders will make sure that the recommendations are properly implemented. We had invited experts from across the State and conducted nearly 20 workshops on GST regime. I do not think there will be much problem,” said Sonthalia. Incidentally, SCCI represents over 15,000 traders across Kolhan.
Another SCCI official though admitted of initial jerks being felt by the traders. He went on to add that one of the main objectives of GST is to eliminate the cascading impact of taxes on production and distribution cost of goods and services.
Jugsalai resident Kamal Jain, president of Jamshedpur Wholesale Cloth Merchants Association, said they were small traders and opposed the imposition of 5 per cent GST on an item which had been tax free so far. We have to fill in numerous returns (over 36) in a complicated process almost every day and this will affect our business.
Incidentally, 3,500 wholesale cloth traders across Kolhan (twin districts of West and East Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharswan) had kept their units shut for the day to protest against the GST imposition.
The wholesale traders said that with the introduction of GST and the complicated tax return process their business will suffer to the tune of over 25 per cent.
“Though since independence, textiles (not readymade) have been exempted from all sorts of taxes. The GST of 5 per cent will increase woes of the traders. We demand rollback of GST in textiles,” said Anil Modi, vice-president of the association.
Another businessman said that taxes on foods and services would be a significant in the field of indirect tax reforms in the country. By amalgamating a large number of central and State taxes into a single tax and allowing set-off of prio-stage taxes, it would mitigate the ill effects of cascading and pave the way for a common national market.