Knitwear units seek simple process for GST filing, refund

TIRUPUR: Knitwear industries in the hosiery hub of Tirupur have demand further simplification of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) filing and refund procedures, since the existing system is still a tedious one for small scale units. 

Speaking on the issues, general secretary of the South India collar shirts and Inner wear Small scale Manufacturers Association (SISMA), K S Babuji said, “even after repeated representations to the Centre on problems in adapting to the GST system, the knitwear industry is yet to get a solution. Following introduction of GST, industries have to submit three different forms for monthly procurement, sales and net tax. 

It is a tedious job for knitwear industries to fill the complicated forms and forces industrialists to undergo severe pressure every month.”

He requested that the three forms be welded into a single and simplified procedure to file tax on time. He also said, “the central government should consider providing such forms in Tamil too. It would be helpful for small scale manufacturers to understand it easily and also to file such forms properly.”

Similarly, garment manufacturers and exporters are still experiencing inordinate delay for getting GST refund due to complex procedures.

 M P Muthu Rathinam, president of  the Tirupur Exporters and Manufacturers Association (TEAMA), said, “though the state government has made a series of efforts to get GST refund for beneficiaries, crediting the refund to the beneficiaries bank account is getting delayed.” 

Mr. Muthu Rathinam rued that refund procedures are taking more than 30 days and many exporters have not received refunds even after getting refund orders. He also said, “the Tax department officials in Coimbatore have simplified the procedure without form 49 and also by coordinating with the treasury directly. A similar procedure should be implemented for the garment exporters in Tirupur also, as a solution to the issue.”