GST on cloth will increase corruption, say merchants

Chamber threatens phased stir if 5% tax is not withdrawn

June 16, 2017 01:05 am | Updated 01:05 am IST - RAJAMAHENDRAVARAM

Up in arms:  Cloth merchants staging a protest in Rajamahendravarm on Thursday.

Up in arms: Cloth merchants staging a protest in Rajamahendravarm on Thursday.

The Mahatma Gandhi Cloth Merchants’ Association, district cloth merchants association and other merchants have appealed to the Union Government to withdraw the 5% GST on cloth which, they said, will encourage corrupt practices among the merchant community.

Addressing a meeting of merchants after a rally followed by bandh here on Thursday, AP Chamber of Commerce and Industries convener Ashok Kumar Jain, merchant’s association leader Bommana Rajkumar and others said that till now there were three steps of taxation for cloth merchants like 18% tax for raw material (thread), 18% for dyeing and another 18% for finished goods (clothes). “But 5% more tax at selling point will burden the merchant which will be passed on to customer ultimately,” said Mr. Jain. The multiple taxation was the best example for the wrong directions given by bureaucrats to the rulers, he alleged.

‘Anti-merchant’

He said that small and medium businessmen like cloth merchants and kirana merchants were the largest community in the country after agriculture and the Modi government was taking anti-merchant decisions.

The 5% taxation could lead to corrupt practices by merchants as they would want to avoid paying it, he added.

If the tax was not withdrawn, the AP Chamber of Commerce as well as the merchants’ association would take up an agitation in a phased manner, he said.

Chamber president Burlagedda Subbarayudu said that they had taken out a rally from the Mahatma Gandhi cloth market and closed all the shops in protest against the government’s decision. Secretary Kalepu Ramachandrarao, Ramesh Hemdev and others participated in the meeting.

Bandh total

Vizianagaram Correspondent adds:

The State-wide bandh called by the Andhra Pradesh Textile Traders’ Federation against the Goods and Services Tax evoked good response with all the textile traders downing shutters on Thursday.

In addition to the shops on M.G. Road and Vulli Veedhi, the major wholesale textile market in the North Andhra coastal district, the Balaji Textiles Market complex, at Cantonment here, also wore a deserted look.

Rally

The traders under the banner the Wholesale Textile Merchants’ Association took out a rally from the Balaji Market to the Collector’s Office and staged a protest there.

Association president K.L. Narasinga Rao and secretary Shanti Lal led the protest.

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