In Gwalior, traders are cautiously hopeful

Much has changed since June 30, when traders in Gwalior protested the launch of Goods and Services tax (GST). Smallest of shops had downed their shutters, prompting many to liken the atmosphere in the city to the mourning after Madhav Rao Scindia, the member of the Gwalior royal family and former Union Minister, passed away in an air crash in 2001.

But in the ensuing six weeks since the launch of GST on July 1, trade and industry seem to have gradually settled down into the new tax regime. At least tentatively.

In the city’s wholesale market of Bada, it seems to be business as usual. “There will be some change in prices when we get new stock. As of now, sales have not been impacted in any way with GST,” said Murli Das who runs a ready-made apparel shop. Umesh Rohira, who runs a shoe shop nearby, said that he too is still dealing in old stock but is hopeful that GST will neither impact sales nor prices.

But on the whole, traders seem to be a bit cautious. “ Market thoda tham sa gaya hai (market has slowed down),” said another shop owner who did not wish to be named. He and his friends are going slow on buying new stock as they want to see how GST impacts their relations with suppliers.

Influenced by social media platforms like WhatsApp, many still consider that GST would benefit large companies, and hurt SMEs.

At restaurants, “There were initially some invoicing issues or instances where restaurants had billing errors. We have explained the new rates, without resorting to enforcement at present,” said a tax official.

In the interim, almost all manufacturers and traders have got registered under GST. “Even unregistered traders now want to register as they want to make sure their suppliers get input tax credit,” another tax official in Gwalior said. With a population of about 20 lakh, Gwalior now has about 2,000 active assessees under Central GST and slightly more under State GST.

As more businesses register, sales of invoicing and return filing software has also seen a rise. “Since GST, sales of invoicing software have multiplied over 10 times,” said Rakesh Agrawal, a tax advocate.

But Pravin Agarwal, Honorary Secretary, Madhya Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, believes that while GST will be helpful in the long run, at present there is a lot of flux and confusion. Understanding HSN codes and tax rates for their products is also a difficult task for many traders and manufacturers. Also, “There are power cuts of at least three to four hours daily. For registration, there were special drives. But during return filing, this can be a problem,” Agarwal said.

Some traders also point to initial police harassment who wanted to check “GST Bills” while others are worried about reporting to both the Centre and State GST officials. “ Pehle mujhe Diwali par ek mithai ka dabba bhejna padta tha, ab do bhejna padega (earlier I had to send one box of sweets on Diwali. Now I will have to send two),” commented a manufacturer on the dilemma.

Both CGST and SGST departments have opened GST Seva Kendras and conducted workshops and seminars to acclimatise traders of the new levy and clear their doubts. “We had set up registration centres in our offices, where assessees could seek help or even ask us to register them for GST,” said an official.

Now, like elsewhere in the country, both tax officials and businesses are gearing up for the challenge of filing the first monthly returns under GST.

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