GST Day 2: Confusion reigns supreme among wholesalers, retailers in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: On the second day of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's second surgical strike on parallel economy with the implementation of GST, confusion reigned supreme among wholesalers and small retailers in Bengaluru on Sunday. But the worst affected seemed to be the consumer, who had to pay more for drugs, eating out, film tickets, cosmetics, jewellery and more.

Dr Nagaraj, a resident of Rajajinagar, hit the nail on the head, saying, “No trader will bear the burden of increased taxes, and it is the consumer who will suffer. I feel, the most unfair decision is bringing AC and non-AC hotels under the 18 and 28 per cent tax slab, as majority of professionals in cities depend on hotels to eat.”

But the traders too are confused as they have big inventories of old stocks, but are clueless whether to proceed with the new tax regime or stick to the previous taxation system to clear the stock as GST has steeply increased the tax slabs of consumer goods.

Even the jewellery industry is affected as the tax has gone up from 1 to 3 percent, while the making charges have been placed in the 18 percent slab, sources said.

A trader, who wished not to be identified, said, “We are worried because we have to now hire auditors to maintain the account books. Also, majority of businessmen do not have the basic knowledge on GST and have temporarily shut their shops.”