The Goods and Services Tax (GST) appears to have taken the sheen out of the textile business during the Christmas-Sankranti season in Srikakulam and Vizianagaram as a majority of the traders have scaled down their operations amidst various curbs imposed by officials.
With the e-way bill system and confiscation of goods on the ground of undervaluation and other reasons becoming a cause of concern, many traders are learnt to have cancelled the orders placed with the wholesale suppliers in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and other places.
Consequently, the business is dull on GT Road in Srikakulam. Sri Balaji Wholesale market in Cantonment of Vizianagaram, one of the biggest textile markets in A.P., has been witnessing very few buyers for the past one week.
“The textile business has been badly affected this year due to the wrong interpretation of GST rules and regulations. The Commercial Taxes Department is insisting on e-way bills although the rule is not there for many States. The dealers who are unable to produce the e-way bill are forced to pay huge penalties. Those carrying goods worth below ₹50, 000 are also facing difficulties although there is a relaxation for them. All these reasons forced many traders to cancel orders worth crores of rupees,” said K.L. Narasimham Rao, president of the Balaji Wholesale Cloth Merchants Association.
Vizianagaram Chamber of Commerce president P.C.S. Nageswara Rao told The Hindu that the organisation was holding a crucial interaction between the officials and traders at SNN Lake Palace in Vizianagaram on Sunday afternoon over GST issues. According to him, Vizianagaram in charge Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao, Minister for Mines Sujay Krishna Ranga Rao, Collector Vivek Yadav and Joint Commissioner of Commercial Taxes for Vizianagaram and Srikakulam N. Srinivasa Rao among others would attend the meeting.
The traders are likely to explain their grievances and seek amicable solutions for objections over e-way bill system and penalties.
