The Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samiti (KVVES) has opposed the decision of the GST Council to impose 1% cess on GST for two years to support flood relief work.
Samiti leaders alleged here on Saturday that this could not be justified as the government had already collected huge amounts in the name of flood relief from various sources.
KVVES State president T. Nazirudeen said the trend, if introduced in Kerala, would be followed by other States too as an easy way to mobilise funds for disaster management and it would even derail the concept of Goods and Services Tax. He said there was no clarity on the goods and services to be considered for the new cess.
Mr. Nazirudeen pointed out that traders across the State had faced huge loss as a result of frequent hartals. “If the government is trying to control hartals, it will be enough to generate the required revenue for flood relief works,” he said.
The KVVES leaders decided to hold an anti-hartal meeting in Thrissur on January 17 to discuss the latest develops and the demands of some of the traders for financial support to overcome hartal-related loss. They said the meet would urge the government to think of a new law to stop hartals.
