RSS supports small traders' concerns about GST

 RSS-affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), like the Congress, has lent support to concerns of small traders about Goods and Services Tax (GST) and urged the Centre to “favourably address their concerns”.

The Congress, which is opposed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi launching GST on June 30 and not President Pranab Mukherjee, has urged the Centre to delay the implementation of the new tax regime owing to protest by textile traders and others.
The SJM argued that GST compliance for “small-scale industry may cause a host of problems, putting them at loss vis-a-vis their competitors from big industry and businesses.”

The RSS front organisation said it has for long been insisting that GST will benefit big businesses, multi-state operators and transnational corporations (TNCs). The SJM has expressed solidarity with genuine demands of small-scale industries (SSIs) and traders who are opposing GST in its present form.

The SJM has urged the government to “favourably work upon to address their concerns for a balanced GST, and help in the smooth transition to a new tax regime.”

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley ruled out postponement of the implementation date - July 1 - as the government won’t be able to collect old taxes after the constitutionally mandated September deadline.

A large number of SSIs and traders organisations, representing different sectors, commodities and regions, are opposing GST in its present form, including the different tax rates, and are seeking redressal of their concerns.

GST faces opposition in Varanasi

The Centre may be planning a grand rollout of the Goods and Services Tax from Friday midnight, but it has been facing stiff resistance from traditional Banarasi saree manufacturers and dealers in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi, reports DHNS from Lucknow.

Traders dealing in Banarasi sarees and the cloth merchants’ association have given a call for a three-day bandh in the city to protest against GST. According to reports, markets in the city observed a complete shutdown on Tuesday and Wednesday. Experts said the shutdown affected business transactions worth around Rs 100 crore