Traders plan nationwide protest against tax hikes

Traders protest against 5 per cent GST on pre-packed and labelled food, in Jammu, on Saturday. Pic/PTI

Traders and shopkeepers will hold a nationwide protest next week against a hike in taxes on a range of products and services, including food grains and household items, that went into effect on Monday, a top official of a leading traders' group said.

"The 5 per cent tax on a range of food products, which remained tax free so far, and hike in rates on other household items has increased the inflation burden on the public and traders," Confederation of All India Traders' chief Pravin Khandelwal said.

He said the group's members would launch a nationwide series of protest meetings on July 26, starting in Bhopal, a stronghold of the ruling BJP. Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) chairman Brijesh Goyal said this is the first time since Independence that dal, rice, flour, cereals, curd, and lassi among other items, that used to be tax-free, have now been taxed.

"We are against this decision and it should be rolled back. This will prove to be detrimental for the common man and traders. This is an anti-people move," Delhi Grain Merchant Association president Naresh Kumar Gupta told PTI. A commodity is pre-packaged when it has been packaged without the purchaser being present.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever