Gujarat Election 2017: GST woes continue to haunt textile traders of Surat

The jinx that began on the midnight of July 1 with the implementation of GST continues to haunt Surat, the biggest textile hub that accounts for 40% business in man-made fabric in India.

“We were assured at various government forums that  nearly 80-90% of our demands will be met. But when GST Council meeting met on November 10, our demands were not even touched. We are again at the crossroads,” says Manoj Agarwal, President of Federation of Surat Textile Traders Association (FOSTTA).    

The main demand of the traders relates to doing away with GST that has been put at every point of the supply chain - from the grey cloth stage till the product reaches the final point of sale.  At least 12 jobs such as embroidery lace patti, fall & stitching, charak, packaging etc. are involved once the grey fabric leaves the power looms and reaches the retail shops. But making challans and keeping track and giving details of each and every challan in ITC-04 at each of the 12 points has rendered the trade impossible, complain traders.

Apart from FOSTTA, other associations like the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SGCCI) have given representations at various levels, including Union ministers Arun Jaitley, Smriti Irani, Piyush Goyal and even BJP chief Amit Shah and BJP leader and Secretary General of Confederation of All India Traders Praveen Khandelwal. However, despite assurances, their demands have not been met, complain traders.