GST casts gloom on General Bazar

All is not spic and span at the famed marketplace as vendors are closing their shops due to the adverse impact of Goods and Services Act

Secunderabad: Touted as one of the most popular cut-price souks in the twin cities, Secunderabad’s historic General Bazar seems to be losing its sheen by each passing day. According to the vendors in the flea market that abuts MG Road, all is not hunky-dory in the once buzzing bazar.

They say that on an average, about 50 per cent of their sales has been dropped due to various reasons. For the past two decades, though neither the mushrooming of malls nor the cult of e-commerce affected the age-old General Bazar, the newly-introduced Goods and Services Tax (GST) seems to have played the spoilsport.

The damage has been severe and this difference is mostly due to demonetisation and GST. Interestingly, for the first time, to-let boards have come up in the bazar, much to the chagrin of its longstanding customers.

“Due to the introduction of GST, my business has plunged by 80 per cent. I hardly get any walk-in customers now. I started this business 27 years ago and as per my observation, this place is losing its charm. None of the small retailers want to continue their business here anymore. I only find to-let boards and looking at the present scenario with a lot of apprehension. I’ll also have to do the same in a couple of years,” said Mohammed Mosin, owner of a luggage store at the General Bazar.

What appears like a small lane for an onlooker from MG Road, the market is vast once you enter, with over 300 shops to leaf through. Standing tall for the past 60 years, General Bazar offers the best fabrics for the cheapest price. With a lot of varieties of chiffon, pochampally, brocade, kurtis, dupattas, salwar kameezes and blouses for shopaholic women, men can also grab his favourite piece of cloth including good quality, shirt, trousers and suiting material in the market.

But with the introduction of GST, zero to 12 per cent of tax has been levied on textiles due to which majority of textile businesses has been declined, an apparent impact of the new taxation system. According to retailers, the customers are refusing to pay the tax amount.

“I purchased a dress for my daughter that costs Rs 650 and earlier I could have bought the same dress for Rs 450 or 500. Because of the GST, these vendors have increased the margin as well and this difference in cost is unacceptable,” said Mohan Rao, a regular customer.

Chetan Chittarkar, owner of Rithika (clothing shop), who recently protested against the new GST system said, “There is 5 per cent tax on any purchase below Rs 1,000 and above that the customer will be charged 12 per cent tax. Earlier, the tax was added to the MRP itself on ready-made clothes but now we are supposed to mention the tax separately. Just because there is a change in the billing system, though the customer is being charged almost the same amount as earlier, is unwilling to pay the tax.”

As there is huge plunge in their sales, many shop owners even tried exploring online shopping market, but much to their dismay, they could not attract customers. “People who come to General Bazar are not interested in one particular shop or brand. They just surf through the whole area and pick things of their choice.

The online shop I established didn’t run for long as my clientele wasn’t drawn to it,” said owner of Step Up (footwear store). However, big entities like Taruni, Brand Factory and South India Shopping mall are said to be making good business, despite the changed tax regimen.

By Tera Sneha Reddy