Textile Traders Bandh still continued against GST

Hyderabad, June 28: The textile traders have launched a protest against the goods service tax (GST), which was proposed by the central government.

The Textile traders have closed their shops on Tuesday, with a counter to imposing 5 per cent tax on garments. The bandh had been organized for 3 days, In some areas, The traders wore black badges and held protest rallies.

The Textile traders said, "It is unfair to impose GST on taxpayers who are already in vogue. Expressing concern over the risk of losing jobs, the textile traders could not afford the loss of the taxes faced by them."

In the city of Khammam, the textile traders and MLA Puvvada Ajay Kumar supported the bandh. The garment workers in Sattupalli and Kallur were dressed in black badges.

 
The bandh worn in the Asifabad, Kagaznagar, Vankadi, Rubenna, Sirpur (T), Jaipur and Kerameri Mandal in KumaramBhim district. In the Nizamabad district, garment shops and furniture merchants also closed the shops.

The textile traders say the sector is not against the taxation but is merely unprepared for the GST regime.

GST for the textile sector was announced only in the first week of June. Traders allege that GST on textiles would only benefit big manufacturers and has been levied on the sector to stifle competition from the unorganized sector.



"None of the traders in TS districts have a computer, none of them have been trained in GST-network either. Officials did conduct training camps on how to file returns using the GSTN software but only for traders who have a computer. The rest were ignored," said Prakash.

There exist power shortages and poor network connectivity in many Telangana districts. Trying to become GST compliant would require additional investments which many from this unorganized sector will be unable to afford, he added.

Hyderabad-based women entrepreneurs are upbeat about the sector moving into the GST regime. Experts related to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector say with input credit system being brought in by GST.

The sector will become more organized and be able to compete in larger markets, eventually benefitting a large number of women working in the sector.