PALAKKAD: The traders affiliated to the Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi (KVVES) will close their shops on August 20 to protest against what they called ‘harassment of traders’ by the officials of the commercial taxes department in the name of value added tax and other advance taxes.
If the government fails to meet their demands inspite of their one-day token strike, they would be forced to go for an indefinite strike after Onam.
Briefing mediapersons on the decisions taken at the state executive committee and state secretariat at the Joby’s mall here on Sunday, state president and general secretary of the KVVES T Nazarudheen and Joby V Chungath said that the reforms undertaken in relation to the value added tax was done in haste without even an awareness drive.
They said that small traders were finding it difficult to file the e-declarations as they did not have their own computers and were dependent on the Akshaya Centres.
They said that the traders needed to be given at least one more year before the e-declaration was implemented. Apart from the commercial taxes department, the traders were being harassed by the departments of legal metrology, labour and food safety among others.
The KVVES leaders said that the lorries of the traders were being detained for days at the checkposts and sometimes left free without any fine. There needs to be a provision for initiating action against the officials at the checkposts for unnecessarily delaying the vehicles.
Nazarudheen said that the 2 per cent tax imposed on textile shops which exceeded a turnover of `1 crore was also a retrograde move.
They also criticised the government for going back on the promise to pass an ordinance to protect the interests of the traders who were facing eviction notices from the landlords.
Among those who were present at the meet included state treasurer T D Joseph, state secretary Hameed, state general secretary Mariyil Krishnan Nair and district general secretary M M Hameed among others.