Retail traders happy with GST relaxation

Traders say the relief measures will simplify the GST and encourage faster adoption of the tax system among the trading community, but there are many more issues which are to be addressed, for which these committees could be very useful.

Speaking to this newspaper, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) secretary general Praveen Khandelwal said these committees will ensure that the decisions taken by the government are percolated at the lowest level which will benefit both the government and the trading community and make the implementation simpler. “There is a need to have an effective communication system for this purpose,” he said.

He said there are still many issues which will carry on till the time new regime gets stabilised. “There is the issue of applicability of HSN code. It is a new concept and many traders have no idea about it. Also there is no clarity about nine types of invoices. There is no nodal authority from where we can get credible information. The government should take us on board in order to address these issues,” he said. 

“Enabling composition of dealers to make inter-state sales is a bold decision and will enable small traders to remain competitive. Increase in composition scheme upto Rs 1 crore, deferment of E Way Bill and Reverse Charge Mechanism will boost business sentiments in the country,” said CAIT president B.C. Bhartia.

The council, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, tweaked the GST regime to provide relief to thousands of small firms and exporters and reduced the tax burden on 27 goods including food items such as namkeens which will turn cheaper. It also raised the turnover threshold from Rs 75 lakh to Rs 1 crore for businesses to avail of the composition scheme that allows them to pay 1-5% tax without going through tedious formalities of filing detailed returns.