Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda at ‘Vyapari Sammelan‘ on July 23, said that the new Goods and Services Tax (GST) is extremely tedious for small business and traders. He requested for the simplification of procedures involved for everyone’s good. He was attending the ‘Vyapari Sammelan on 23 July in the home constituency of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.
In his speech, Hooda explained that the new GST based tax system launched by the BJP government in the name of “One Nation, One Tax” is proving quite complicated because of its seven-tier tax structure. The Congress was reportedly favouring for one tax rate (with three slabs) to be implemented with a cap of 18 per cent for all goods & services across the nation.
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) was officially implemented in the country on July 1. Businesses and small traders in India have already started accepting the rules and procedures involved in the GST system. It is still going to take some time for the proper and complete implementation of GST in India, but people are getting more aware about the benefits of it with the time.
During the Traders’ Panchayat (‘Vyapari Sammelan), Hooda also presented a demand letter with 12-points in support to a more people-friendly GST. The event was reportedly attended by thousands of traders from all over the state. Hooda urged the government to fulfill their demands. He also said that if the government refuses to meet the demands, a ‘Vyapari Mahapanchayat’ will be held after Parliament’s monsoon session which would be followed by a statewide protest.
In his 12-point demand letter, he demanded that the government implements a two-returns-a-year system in place of the current multiple-returns-a-year tax process which is proving too confusing and tedious for small traders. He also demanded that cloth traders and farm-related products be exempted from tax filing under GST.
The minister also demanded for search and seizure clause in the new tax scheme, as it may bring again the inspector Raj in India. Hooda, mentioned that, “We are not against the GST, but we are opposing the flaws in the newly-introduced GST.”
