VIJAYAWADA: A majority of the electronic showrooms on Mahatma Gandhi Road and Eluru Road in the Andhra Pradesh capital were selling existing stocks at old rates to consumers on day one of GST.
The traders claimed that they are yet to receive the new tariff and it may take at least a week for them to do the price adjustments. However, when compared to Friday, business was slow on Saturday. With new stocks yet to arrive from the manufacturers, business will not pick up any momentum until then.
Many electronics showrooms, garment and furniture shops, mobile outlets witnessed poor footfalls compared to Friday as most customers were still unfamiliar with the new rates of taxation. Given the state of uncertainty, medical shops in Suryaraopet and One Town areas were issuing hand-written medical bills.
Restaurants and hotels, however, have started charging 18 percent GST on food bills as against 21 percent VAT on Friday. Two-star hotels said they have begun to charge 18 per cent GST from Saturday.
In Visakhapatnam, the biggest city in Andhra Pradesh, many shops in the city were seen with no customers. These included electronics, garments, furniture, mobile and electric appliances stores. The clientele at restaurants and hotels was normal however.
Showroom owners told New Indian Express that the tax rate applicable on Friday was 5 per cent, but on day one of GST they are charging 12 per cent. "We had a lot of customers on Thursday and Friday due to the discount sales. There are no customers today. We expect an increase in sales in the coming days," a sales manager said.
Officials at Daspalla, one of the leading hotels in Vizag, said they began charging 18 per cent GST from Saturday. "On Friday our VAT was 14 percent. Under GST, we are charging 21 percent. If we consider the overall price, the charge will be around Rs 100 to Rs 120 more than yesterday," said the representative.
A few small-scale shops near Police Barracks in One Town area were selling electronic and hardware items at MRP prices but without bills. The shopkeepers said that they are unaware of the exact tax to charge. "We also do not want to lose our customers right now,” said a trader.
One shopping mall announced discounts from 12 am to 3 pm on Saturday but closed when a huge throng showed up. Customers got irked and damaged the hoardings and furniture in front of the showroom. Police arrived and pacified the crowd.