New Delhi: Retail SME businesses have built a case for deferment of implementation of GST by two months to September 1 on account of complexities involved to comply with the new set-up.
A group of retail businesses, including Max Standard Retail Pvt, SRS Group and Vmart, has written a letter to Finance Minister and Chairman of the GST Council Arun Jaitley to extend the GST deadline, which has now been set at July 1.
The retailers sought extension, along with clarification for the industry, to absorb the change, the representation made to the finance minister said.
“The extension window is important for the players of sector as order placement for the next quarter has already commenced and retailers are not in a position to accurately forecast the impact on MRP,” it said. Earlier, traders association Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) also pitched delaying the rollout of the goods and services tax (GST) regime to September 1 as small businesses are not yet ready for it.
“Nearly 70 per cent of small businesses in the country are yet to adopt digital technology in their business format and as such, it is a big challenge for them to computerise themselves in the shortest period”, CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal had said.
“Accordingly, the deadline of GST implementation from July 1 may be deferred for a reasonable time and meanwhile, a nationwide campaign for mass awareness on GST may be conducted involving trade associations all over the country,” he had suggested.
Earlier, Prime Minister Modi has reviewed the status of the roll out of GST. He held a high-level meeting with key officials from the Finance Ministry to review the preparedness to roll out the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
According to highly placed sources, Prime Minister Modi met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and senior officials from the Revenue Department including Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia to review the progress on the GST roll-out, among other issues. The government is looking at July 1 as the date for the GST roll-out – marking the biggest indirect tax reform since Independence.
A number of multilateral and ratings agency have predicted that the GST will boost India’s growth in the medium-term. Apart from GST roll-out preparations, the high-level meet is understood to have discussed progress on the central government’s anti-black money measures.