Mobile phone dealers, retailers to protest today

Hyderabad: Telangana Mobile Phone Distributors Association and Telangana Cellular Mobile Retailer Association will hold a silent protest on Wednesday morning at Dharna Chowk in Indira Park.

Both of these organizations have 200 distributors and 5,000 dealers. About a hundred members of these two organisations will hold a protest against Re-Assessment Notices served by the Commercial Tax Department.

Disclosing this in a press note issued in the city on Tuesday, Mr Chaitanaya Dev Singh, President of Telangana Mobile Distributors Association, and Majid Bin Abid, of Telangana Cellular Mobile Retailers Association, said that during the period of September 20, 2014 to July 28, 2016, the mobile phone manufacturers charged VAT of 5% to distributors. The same was charged to retailers and customers.

Accordingly, the Commercial Tax Department completed the assessments without raising any objections. But, suddenly the Department started issuing Re-assessment Notices for the same period at 14.5% and proposed to demand the differential tax liability of 9.5%, which runs into several crores.

Subsequently, the Commercial Tax Department has started issuing Re-assessment Notices for the period by classifying the mobile phones at 14.5% and proposed to demand the differential tax liability by stating that Circular dated May 17, 2014, issued by Composite State was withdrawn by Telangana Government.

As it is, the trade operates at a very less margin ranging from 1% to 1.5%. The net profit of after tax liability and deducting operating expenses will range from 0.25% to 0.75% only.

To meet the demand notices of the Commercial Tax Department, the margin and the entire capital of these players will get eroded, and they will have to shut their shops. Many representations have been made to competent authorities and got assurances, but the problem is not solved.

In this context, the two associations are planning for a Silent Protest at Dharna Chowk, near Indira Park on September 4 at 12 noon. The two associations appeal and demand to the Government to intervene and save the distributors and dealers.