Garment traders in the State are preparing to take their protest to the next level against a 5 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) with announcing a State-wide closure of their shops on June 15. However, the largest trade body of the State, the Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FJCCI), has decided to take a balanced position on the issue saying that the Chamber was offering its ‘moral support’ to garment traders with the view that compliance was a bigger issue for the sector than no GST.
“Despite the fact that Union Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram meghwal had promised to the Chamber and others of keeping garment sector out of GST during his visit to Ranchi last year, we are not against the sector being pulled into GST net. But we will have to understand the larger issue and that is of compliance. It is extremely difficult for a trader doing his garment business in almost no space and sometimes at almost no profit will find it easy to install a set up for GST compliance. The system, training and education and so many other things are associated with it which will only force traders to exit from business if GST is imposed on garment,” said FJCCI Secretary General Ranjeet Kumar Garodia on Sunday.
The traders who marched to Raj Bhawan on Saturday under banner of Jharkhand Wholesale Garment Traders Association to hand over a memorandum to her had to return without getting a chance to meet with her. However, they have been given time on Monday morning to come to meet the Governor and put their demands across. Meanwhile, they sat for a peaceful agitation in front of Mahatma Gandhi statue in Morhabadi Grounds on Sunday. They have decided to continue lodging their protests on Monday by selling tea on the same venue and will organise Nukkad Natak at Mahaveer Chowk on Tuesday this week followed by statewide garment shop closure on Wednesday.
Notably, Jharkhand Wholesale Garment Traders Association has strongly opposed to a 5 percent GST on garments saying that none of the previous governments imposed any tax on garments with a view that it was basic need of even poorest of the poor, and imposing any tax on garments would be similar to imposing tax on shrouds.