‘Waybill’ confuses traders

Hyderabad: As the state bifurcation deadline of June 2 nears, there is utter confusion among traders and businessmen in Telangana and Seemandhra regions over seeking “waybill” to transfer goods from Hyderabad to Seemandhra and vice-versa.

A “waybill” is a document to be carried by the transporter, consisting of details of the consignment, the recipient and sender.

However, after bifurcation of the state on June 2, the transfer of goods from Hyderabad to Seemandhra region and vice-versa will be treated as “inter-state” trade and it requires traders to obtain waybill from the commercial taxes department.

Traders have to pay 2 per cent central sales tax (CST) for the purpose.

Though Hyderabad serves as the joint capital for both the states for 10 years, officials say it will be only for administrative purposes and traders cannot be exempted from waybill for transfer of goods.

However, the government is yet to come out with an official announcement to this effect leaving traders confused.

Normally, majority of the firms from both Seemandhra and Telangana regions operate from Hyderabad, being the state capital. With this, Hyderabad used to garner major share of VAT from the entire state.

Now, with bifurcation, if traders operating from Hyderabad want to shift their base to Seemandhra region, they need to set up a office in one of the locations there and obtain a fresh registration certificate (RC) from the commercial taxes department.

Since the capital for Seemandhra is yet to be decided, traders are confused where to set up their office. Official sources said it would not be possible for such traders to do business in the present format from Hyderabad without obtaining waybill. If goods are transferred without waybill, the goods carriers are liable for seizure by the commercial taxes department besides imposing taxes and penalty.