Textile shops and factories remained closed in Surat on Thursday. The objective of the bandh was to increase the GST rate on clothes from 5 to 12% with effect from January 1, 2022. In view of the increasing anger against the government among the textile traders across the country, it is being speculated that the government should postpone the GST increase for the time being.
The delegation of textile traders of Surat had offered in front of top officials including Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the past regarding the ill-effects of increasing the tax on cloth. Local MP CR Patil and Mrs. Darshanaben Jardosh also joined the voices of the traders. But after that meeting there was no positive signal from the government. Due to this, the despondent textile traders started making the turn of the movement. Its information also reached the government camp.
The government, which had just come out of the mess of the peasant movement, was in no way to face any new mass movement. Navsari MP CR Patil, while giving a statement during a program in Surat in the presence of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, said that he has offered with full force to the government that increasing the GST on clothes is economically disadvantageous. can be proved. He had also requested the Chief Minister to write a letter to the Central Government and place a demand in this regard. A day after this development, there was a sudden news that a meeting of the GST Council has been kept on the morning of 31 December.
The GST Council meeting of December 31 is going to take place when textile traders across the country have observed a one-day symbolic shutdown and the proposed increase is to come into effect from January 1, 2022. In such a situation, suddenly it is not a coincidence to have a meeting of the GST Council just a day before this. The notification of GST increase was issued only last month and he also has the right to make changes in it, so this meeting becomes very important.
The country’s reputed business news channel, citing sources, has said in its report that the 12% GST, which is going to be implemented from January 1 on textiles and footwear, may be postponed. That is, the current rate of 5% GST can be maintained on fabric, footwear below Rs 1000. By the way, the general discussion is also that there can be a discussion on reducing the present four slabs of GST to three. But these are all speculations. The matter of the issue is that whether the good news of postponing the GST rate hike on clothes comes after the GST Council meeting on December 31, traders are eyeing it.