CAIT demands to include traders in process of designing GST taxation system

New Delhi, January 30, 2013: Though the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has welcomed the progress made on implementation of Goods & Services Tax (GST) in India, as per the recently concluded meeting of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers at Bhuvneshwar where it has been decided that States can choose stay out of goods and services tax. Such a decision will distort the basic fundamental of the GST taxation system and will be a blow to the federal structure of the Country. Leaving for the states to decide about implementing GST will bring several practical problems to the traders across the country and such taxation system has no meaning at all since under such a system the traders will be the "scapegoat".

CAIT National Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal while commenting upon various decisions taken in the said meeting stated that if one state enforced GST and the other state remains a non-GST state, the trade between the two states will result into many inherent practical problems for the traders as it will be difficult for the traders to take input tax credit because of different taxation system. The CAIT is in favour of GST but it should be single tax, uniform taxation system, uniform tax rates, uniform law across the country and the C-Forms and Road Permits and other forms applicable in inter- state transactions should be dispensed with and CST should be abolished as per the promise of the Central Government. Such are the basic fundamentals of GST taxation system.

Khandelwal said that soon he will take up this issue with Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and Chairman of the Empowered Committee Sushil Modi and with Finance Ministers of other States. "We have seen that so many large promises were made at the time of introduction of VAT taxation system but the history witnessed that each state manipulated the taxation system as per its own wish and the traders were the worst affected. The government should learn a lesson from the VAT and such things should not be repeated at all.

However, the CAIT has demanded that traders must be included in the process of designing the GST taxation system and its road map. If we are not made part of the consultations, we will be at liberty to strongly oppose the GST, cautioned Khandelwal.