Mixed response in UP, Bihar

Seventy-year-old Deepak Kumar from Patna is into the ready-made garment business for the last 40 years. Unlike most Indians, he was not on the forefront to welcome GST.

Kumar expressed his apprehension that it will be the consumer who will feel the pinch in the days to come.

Pointing out three shortcomings, Kumar said, “Traders whose turnover is more than Rs 20 lakh will have to file the tax return every month. Till now, we used to file our return annually. I will now have to hire a chartered accountant to do this specific job every month. My expense will increase."

"Secondly, suppose my turnover is Rs 40 lakh. I will have to pay Rs 40,000 as tax. Till now, I paid Rs 15,000 as taxes. But my tax outgo will now increase. Thirdly, the interference by the officials will increase who will snoop into verify each and every minute details every month,” he said.

Kumar is one of those traders who feel that with increased tax outgo and increased expenses, he will have to increase the price of his product.

In Uttar Pradesh

GST was off to a mixed and cautious start with traders and the common people keeping their fingers crossed about its possible impact.

The traders’ organisations also remained divided on the new taxation system. While some of them have said that it is against the interests of small traders, some others have welcomed it. A majority of traders, however, said that they were not yet familiar with the provisions and that it would take some time before they got acquainted it. The fact that traders and consumers remained uncertain about its impact was visible in major markets in Lucknow and in other towns as business was reported to be very low on Saturday, the first day under GST.