Hyderabad: On Day 1 of GST only big retail chains, supermarkets, hotels and restaurants etc could roll out GST-compliant bills.
All the checkposts in states collecting commercial taxes were closed as tax rates became uniform in all states leaving no scope for tax evasion in the GST regime.
To enthuse consumers on Day 1, big retail chains and shopping malls conducted “GST Muhurat Trading” offering huge discounts up to 30 per cent. Kirana stores and neighbourhood shops continued to issue handwritten bills.
For some, VAT still existed as they issued bills with old VAT rates. For most of the shops in the unorganised sectors in the city, it was business as usual without mention of GST.
GST benefits were not passed on to the consumers. Most businesses including big ones, faced billing issues as they failed to update their software to factor in new GST tax rates, which led to arguments between staff and consumers in stores.
Initial Hiccups
Kirana stores and neighbourhood shops in city continued to issue handwritten bills. For some shops, VAT still existed as they issued bills with old VAT rates.
There were delays in the billing process and some products taken by consumers had to be returned with software not displaying GST rates.
Meanwhile, 1,100 cinema owners across Tamil Nadu called for an indefinite strike from Monday. A majority of cloth shops in Gujarat remained shut protesting 5% GST.
