PALAKKAD: With check posts becoming irrelevant post GST rollout, the government has transferred 25 employees from Walayar check post as part of staff restructuring. Entering Kerala through Walayar check post was a nightmare for truck drivers due to the long wait and laborious paperwork to get clearance. The check post used to witness serpentine queues often extending beyond the border bridge. But with the introduction of GST traffic snarl-ups have become a thing of the past.
“There were around 150 employees including inspectors, clerks, office assistants and inspecting officers at the check post. Now, with the rollout of GST, the check post will become redundant within a month or two. All the women employees and three officers have been transferred,” Inspecting Assistant Commissioner R S Manoj told Express.
He said the check post is still witnessing rush as goods vehicles coming from North Indian states are still producing VAT bills issued before June 30. It will take one more week for the new GST software to be installed and the dealers to issue GST-compliant bills, he said.
Water taps removed
The Commercial Taxes Department has removed around 30 potable water taps at the check post. The water taps were fitted to facilitate the lorry workers who used to get stranded at the check post for hours together. “There were 31 potable water taps at Walayar check post and we had taken two water connections from the Kerala Water Authority to facilitate lorry workers.
The taps were fitted following a request from the Lorry Owners Association. In the last one-and-a-half years, the Commercial Taxes Department has paid a bill of `6 lakh for water consumption. Another bill of `1.5 lakh is due to the Kerala Water Authority. Some tanker lorries from Tamil Nadu used to fill water from the taps indiscreetly. Now that the commercial tax check post has become redundant, the chances of misusing the water taps are very high, It will cause huge financial loss to the department,” said Manoj.
However, if the panchayat wants to revive it, it can do so at its own expense, he said.
Under the GST regime, lorries arriving with goods at the check post have to produce GST KER 1, parcel lorries GST KER 2 and individual consumers GST KER 3. This system will continue till the e-way bill is ready which will take one or two months, said an officer at the check post.Once the check post is dismantled, it will be left to the three or four squads in the district to randomly check vehicles to see if the consignments matched the declaration forms.