The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Tuesday welcomed various announcements for relief announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and was eagerly looking forward to the economic package to be introduced.
While appreciating the extension of various statutory compliances such as filing of income tax, GST and other Acts, the traders’ body said that it would help to withdraw interest for the extended period instead of lowering the rate of interest.
The traders’ body also called for the extension of the current financial year up till June 30, extension in repayment of bank loans, EMIs and other banking obligations till September 30, with a waiver on interest or penalty for the extended period. Apart from this, it also called for the deferring of payment on all government utility bills such as electricity, water, property tax. It also suggested that the government bear the employee’s share of the provident fund for six months, and extension of a corona cash loan at reduced rates of interest to ensure an uninterrupted supply chain.
It also demanded a subsidy to traders for paying wages to their workers for the duration of the lockdown. The CAIT also highlighted the risk of use of cash in transmitting the virus and appealed for the use of digital transactions with removal of bank charges.
The union also said that it would be “religiously follow” the 21-day lockdown declared by the Prime Minister.
