Merchants rue they were not given time to prepare for the rollout; unavailability of network in narrow alleys a problem
Achal Jain, 50, a trader in Asia’s largest wholesale market — Sadar Bazaar — fears that the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), can bring an end to his generations-old business.
“People from across the country come to Sadar Bazaar to buy goods at lower prices. Who will come to us if the tax system is centralised and there is no difference in prices at Sadar Bazaar and at markets in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and other states?” Rued Jain, who deals in household items. “I fear it will eventually bring an end to my family business, which my great-grandfather started in 1948,”he added.
Though not against the new tax system, Jain, who is fifth in the family to take over the business, was of the opinion that the government should have given traders more time to prepare.“The government should have given us an exemption for at least a year. We were not given enough time to prepare for the roll-out. Even our bill books are outdated now,” he said.
Echoing Jain’s sentiment, Vaibhav Singh, another trader, said most traders need training in handling the paperwork under the new tax regime.“Most of us work in a traditional manner and are not acquainted with the digital transaction and billing system. There should have been proper training programme for traders to handle the new tax system,” he said.
Also, the unavailability of mobile and internet network in the narrow alleys of Sadar Bazaar can become a hurdle for traders in digitising their transactions. “There is a serious network problem in my shop. I have to go out every time I make or receive calls. How can digitised billing system work smoothly here?” Questioned Sanjay Jain, a trader.
“Today, we have received fewer customers than what we generally receive on the weekends. The lack of information about the new tax regime has caused a dilemma for both traders and consumers,” said Jain, who deals in cloth merchandise.
The traders have now stopped buying goods from manufacturers as they don’t have new bill books. “We will keep on selling our stock till the manufactures provide us with new bills,”Jain added.
Analysis
The government must make efforts to make the information about GST easily available.
Traders and manufacturers should be given training in the new billing system.
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