The implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) had come to cause chaos amongst the traders and retailers in the Union Territory.
While official sources claim that around 97% of the traders have migrated from Value Added Tax (VAT) to GST, traders brought to the fore the confusion they were facing for want of clear picture on the taxation structure.
A senior official in the Commercial Taxes Department said that around 97% of the traders had migrated to GST.
There are about 18,000 assesses in VAT and about 16,250 had migrated. However, whether GST would bring in a larger revenue to the government could be known only in course of time, he said.
Antedated billing
A retailer said they had no alternative except to bill the sales of consumer durables antedated.
The suppliers had not provided us with the new billing and the current price of various consumer durables after GST was rolled out.
The government on its part says there has been a smooth transition from VAT to GST. But traders, except those in the service industry like hotels, have been facing teething troubles in view of the new taxation structure.
A prominent retailer said that he had exhausted over 50% of his inventory consisting of leading brands through clearance sales before June 30.
“The billing software has not been upgraded and we are yet to receive the price list of stocks after GST. Though a leading software provider had assured us to launch a new software compatible with GST, it is yet to be available,” he said.
Cinema tickets
There is confusion with regard to cinema tickets. Of the 10 cinemas in Puducherry, one downed the shutters while the remaining were open on Monday.
However, after a directive from the Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners and Distributors Association, the remaining cinemas downed their shutters as part of a day-long protest against GST.
