Commercial taxes staff stage protest

Members of the Karnataka Commercial Taxes Services (Officers’) (KCTS-O) Association on Wednesday staged a protest by wearing black bands against the GST Council’s decision to keep all service tax assessees within the jurisdiction of the central government.

KCTS(O) Association president C N Shiva Prakash said, they oppose the retention of assessment jurisdiction of 20.87 lakh assessees under the central government and demand that assessees with a turnover limit of Rs 1.5 crore per annum be brought under the states.

“GST Council’s decision is a glaring instance of the central government’s attempt to impose hegemony on the states,” Prakash said.