Srinagar, Dec 30: Kashmir’s textile markets are observing a shutdown on Thursday to protest against the union government’s decision to hike Goods and Services Tax (GST) on textile fabrics from 5% to 12%.
This strike is being observed coinciding the strike being observed by textile and its allied industries in Gujarat’s Surat textile hub. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has also urged Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to defer the implementation of the GST rate hike on textiles and footwear.
As already reported by Ziraat Times, the union Finance Ministry recently announced a hike of 7% in GST on textile fabrics, raising the tax to 12%. Textile trading unions from across the country have opposed the central government’s decision, calling it devastating for the already-struggling textile trading industry.
In Kashmir, two large textile trading hubs – Sarai Bala Traders Welfare Federation and the MR Gunj Traders Welfare Federation – in a joint statement had called for a shutdown of textile shops to protest the tax hike.
“Tens of thousands of people associated with the sector were already suffering in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns. The new tax hike is a “deadly blow” to textile traders”, the federations said.
“Government is acting thoughtlessly and putting stress on millions of people who earn their livelihood from the textile industry in the country. We are still reeling under and suffering hugely from the effects of the pandemic that has incurred huge losses in the past two years,” President Sarai Bala Traders Welfare Federation Hilal Ahmed khan said. “It’s unfortunate that the central government is putting more stress on the industry which is still recovering from lost sales and higher input costs for the past two years.”
MR Gunj Traders Body president Khursheed Ahmad said the government needed to understand the support the sector is providing to millions of households in India, and any strain on the industry would mean causing stress to these families.
“The government must act responsibly and impose a 5 percent uniform GST on the sector,” he said.
