Traders of Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) at Unjha in north Gujarat are leading the protest against a notification that the TDS will be levied from September 1.
The opposition of traders at major agricultural marketing yards in the state, against the two per cent Tax Deduction at Source (TDS) on cash transactions exceeding Rs 1 crore, seems to be fizzling out.
After two days of standing in solidarity with their brethren across the states, traders in Saurashtra have, on Wednesday, started participating in normal trade. Traders in north Gujarat, the hub of protests, seem to be falling in line.
However, sources said that this is off-season and work is anyway lower at the wholesale markets. The impact of the new rule will be felt when the Kharif crop to be brought in the markets in October - November period.
Traders of Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) at Unjha in north Gujarat are leading the protest against a notification that the TDS will be levied from September 1 onwards by Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).
“Trading has been suspended at Unjha APMC. Traders are continuing with the protest,” said Vishnu Patel, secretary of Unjha APMC.
However, APMCs of Saurashtra region has now started functioning normally. DK Sakhiya, chairman of Rajkot APMC told DNA that they had stayed away from trading for two days as a part of expressing solidarity with the traders of APMC in rest of the state but have resumed operations.
“Depositing money directly into the bank accounts of farmers should not be a problem. Banks have branches at APMCs. Farmers can withdraw money. There may be illiterate farmers for whom withdrawing money from banks can be difficult,” said Sakhiya.
While Unjha is taking the lead in the protests, other APMCs in north Gujarat seems are now rethinking their support.
Mavji Desai, chairman of Deesa APMC said that discussions with various stakeholders are going on. “As of now, even arrivals are less. It seems traders will soon start doing business,” said Desai. Deesa is a hub of production of potatoes, of which a large chunk goes into food processing sector.
Mohan Shravag, secretary of Dhanera APMC said that while traders may be protesting now, sooner or later they will have to fall in line. “After all it is a decision by the government of India. We have no option but to follow. As of now, there are not many arrivals,” said Sharavag.
This yard has groundnut and castor as its main crops. These are Kharif crops and will arrive in markets in October - November.
Jayesh Patel, chairman of The Pal Group Cotton Sale Society in Surat district told DNA that as of now people are not paying attention to the impact the move will have. They will realize the impact when Kharif crops start arriving in markets, Patel added.
Ahmedabad and Surat APMCs were not much affected as they deal mainly with vegetables. The impact is expected to be larger in crops like cotton, groundnut, paddy and oilseeds.
Sources in Ahmedabad APMC said that the net impact of TDS will be minimal as one can get its refund.
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 "'People will start realising the impacts when Kharif crops arrive in the market'")
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