Textile traders’ 3-day strike against GST from tomorrow

The textile industry in the state will observe a 72-hour strike from June 27 to 29 in protest against the GST council’s decision levy a 5 per cent goods and services tax (GST) on the sector.

HYDERABAD: The textile industry in the state will observe a 72-hour strike from June 27 to 29 in protest against the GST council’s decision levy a 5 per cent goods and services tax (GST) on the sector.
The sector is, at present, free of sales and value-added taxes. The call for three-day statewide bandh was given by the Telangana State Federation of Textile Associations (TSFTA) on Sunday.
Traders demanding a rollback of the tax say that levy of GST could cripple small businesses and may even lead to their shutdown causing massive unemployment. They also warn that the prices of textiles would go up up to 10 pc due to the cascading effect of GST.

“This is an unfortunate move by the NDA government. Ours is a completely credit- oriented trade. It takes six months to recover costs. So, filing taxes every month will not be possible. About 20 pc of our products get returned due to change in fashion or due to a variety of reasons. An  item may get sold, maybe, over a year later. All these factors make compliance with GST difficult for the sector,” A Prakash, president of TSFTA, said.

Telangana is not alone, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan too are up in arms, calling for a rollback of the tax. Some states have asked for an extension period of one year for the industry to prepare for the new tax regime. ”The cost of various components such as colours, yarn, dyeing and processing, the manufacturing and distribution all have individual GST of different rates.

The concern is that there will be a compounded effect on the prices as the product moves up the chain with the consumer eventually bearing 10 per cent extra cost for the product under the GST regime,” explained CH Srikanth, general secretary, Secunderabad Clothes Merchants Association. If they don’t roll back the GST on this sector, the NDA government will face the brunt in the 2019 elections, he warned.
“There was no VAT or sales tax earlier on this sector. We have no clue about how to file returns using the GST software. We have not been trained yet. There were seminars to explain about GST but no one taught us how the software works,” said Santosh Chowkani, vice-president of TSFTA.

“How will a trader at a village where there is no network or electricity be able to file taxes online? There are a lot of people employed in this sector as starting cost is low but sales don’t happen often.
An item may be sold a year after it arrives. Many traders thus will be unable to comply with GST rules and will have to shut down eventually leading to unemployment. It is not possible for this sector to comply with GST,” he added.

ICAI forms help desk  for GST information

Hyderabad: The Institute of Cost Accountants of India, Hyderabad Chapter, has formed ‘GST Help Desk’ to provide quick answers to questions and clarifications raised by professionals, accountants or industry. The help desk aims to provide clarifications within a maximum time of 24 hours for the benefit of the target groups. Anyone wishing to reach the help desk may send an email to gsthelp.cma@gmail.com.  The Hyderabad Chapter is also actively conducting GST awareness programmes at the floor of the industry in various industrial estates. Recently, programmes on ‘GST Basics and Compliance Procedures’ were conducted in the industrial estates of Mallapur and Gandhinagar, according to D Suryaprakasam, ICAI chairman and general manager (F&CA) of Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd. For details, contact on mobile phone 7702967892.

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