DNA Money Edit: How GST will play out for unorganised players

Catering to a population of 1.34 billion, India currently has over a crore-odd retail outlets and a large percentage is still in the unorganised space. The very nature of their business helps them compete with the organised players but that's set to change post goods and services tax (GST) implementation. The government's decision to bring the unorganised retailers into the taxable net and increasing the organised pie augurs well for the nation.

However, the move is likely to shrink the share of unorganised retailers as a considerable number will probably shut shop. While a section of experts is of the view there would be a correction of around 30% if not more, there are others who feel there will not be material impact irrespective of whether shop owners are compliant to GST or not.

The government will need careful planning to ensure minimal impact on such entrepreneurs and that a majority of them continue to operate like before. Interestingly, the hottest topic of discussion among small business owners as the GST deadline nears is finding ways to deal with the new business environment.

How will this really pan out for them? Will they up their ante or go slow until things settle down? It's something the government still has to figure out.