12% GST on textiles, footwear draws flak

New Delhi: The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said that instead of simplifying and rationalising the GST tax structure, the GST Council has made it as "most complicated GST law in India over the world" and much against the GST structure shown to CAIT by the then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. CAIT National President B.C. Bhartia and Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said that in the cotton textile industry there was no inverted tax structure, then why fabric and other cotton textile goods were brought under the 12 per cent bracket. The Central government's notification to increase the rate of GST on basic items like textiles and footwear from 5 per cent to 12 per cent is being opposed all over the country, including Delhi, and the CAIT has decided to launch a mega agitation across the country against such arbitrariness.

Bhartia and Khandelwal said that retail trade in the country has already been destroyed due to Covid and now that the business was resuming on track from this year, the increase in the GST rates will be the last nail in the coffin of the trade.

In the matter of increase in clothes and footwear, no consultation was done with any stakeholder of the country. GST is being distorted continuously and the concept of "One Nation-One Tax" has been made a joke. They said that traders across the country have mobilised against this unilateral and arbitrary increase against which the traders across the country are in great anger and resentment, CAIT added.