New Delhi: The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has urged Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to defer the implementation of GST rate hike on textiles and footwear.
The proposal is to enhance the rate of tax from 5 per cent to 12 per cent on textiles and footwear.
In a letter to the minister, CAIT termed the transfer as `illogical` and `past the canon of GST tax construction`, significantly at a time when the home commerce within the nation is on the verge of restoration from the colossal injury prompted due to the final two spells of Covid-19.
“It is noteworthy to mention that the GST collection across the country is increasing every month and as such any increase in tax rates without consulting the stakeholders will run contrary to the `ease of doing business` call of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” the letter learn.
“Therefore, we shall request you to defer the implementation of tax rate hike for certain period and meanwhile constitute a task force under the chairmanship of the Chairman, Central Board of Indirect Taxes, comprising representatives of trade and senior officials of the government to discuss the issue at length and arrive at a consensus,” it added.
According to CAIT, there was no tax on textile or materials for various years.
“This increase in tax rate will not only hamper the domestic trade, but will also affect the exports adversely. Already the textile industry is not at a competent status with countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh and China. On the one hand the government talks about `Make in India` and `Aatmanirbhar Bharat`, while on the other hand levy such high taxes creating an atmosphere of uncertainty and gloom.”
The letter additionally requested for an extension of revenue tax return submitting date.
“The new portal of revenue tax is affected by numerous glitches and submitting of 1 return is taking greater than a few hours. Further, the workers of the tax practitioners are to be skilled to perceive the brand new portal and its utilities.
“Not many professionals are well versed with the frequent changes being made on the portal, very less time has been provided after the introduction of the new portal, frequent changes in various `Forms` and their utility is resulting in duplication of work, due to which a lot of time gets wasted. Many technical glitches are being faced on the portal due to which a lot of time gets wasted. Overlapping of dates for various compliances like due date of filing of income tax returns, GSTR 9, GSTR-9C are another complex issue,” CAIT stated.
