Traders cry foul over GST teething woes

Chennai: Footfall and business activities have come down by 20 per cent in the past one week of GST implementation and there are salary delays to employees, admit traders of Parry’s and T Nagar. 

Further DC also witnessed heated arguments between customers and traders dealing with electrical appliances on NSC Bose road for not providing bills. “If you want bill, it will be 15 per cent extra” was the uniform reply from shop owners to customers.

“GST continues to be a nightmare for small factories and micro industries. More than 40 per cent of traders are yet to raise invoices for sales and employee salaries are delayed as GST confusion prevails”, said K.E. Raghunathan, national president, All India Manufacturers Organisation. Industries are given raw treatment and unnecessary turbulence.

Traders need to file transition forms for claiming the ED and VAT credit in respect of closing stocks as on 30th June 2017 but the GST portal is yet to enable the filing of the same and the teething problems related to GST go unchecked.

Protesting against the GST, CPI (M) leader G. Ramakrishnan and VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan also announced a demonstration on July 14 in Chennai. In a statement, the Left parties and its ally VCK said that strikes are becoming common in Tamil Nadu and there is no solution from the Central government.