Date: May,20, 2012

TRADERS DEMAND FM TO RELEASE WHITE PAPER ON GST

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has today expressed its considered opinion that a National GST is the only way to simplify and rationalise the tax structure in order to encourage voluntary compliance, which is the basic fundamental of a successful taxation regime. The national GST will also promote and establish a common market across the Country-said CAIT. The CAIT has also demanded the Union Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee to release a White Paper on GST. While reminding the Finance Minister of the earlier solemn assurance of the Govt. to abolish Central Sales Tax (CST), the CAIT has also demanded immediate declarion of abolition of Central sales Tax.

CAIT National President Mr. B.C.Bhartia and Secretary General Mr. Praveen Khandelwal further said that the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers had released a Discussion Paper on GST in the year 2009 which did contain certain basic fundamentals but on the contrary to the discussion paper, the proposed tax design of GST seems to be consisting of dual GST, multiple authorities for controlling and administering GST, seperate tax structure for goods on the one side and for services on the other side and other proposals will go against the basic fundamentals of GST and the traders will be put to great hardship and further burdenof lot of paper work. The proposed GST structure is a deviation from the said discussion paper and such deviations reminds us of the current VAT regime which is nothing but a curse to the traders.

The CAIT felt sore that so far the trade and industry in the Country has been kept in dark about the GST. No discussion has been initiated with trading community on the proposed GST road map, its structure or otherwise though the implementation of GST is solely lies on the shoulders of the traders being the ultimate point of contact with the end consumer who has to pay the tax.In such a scenario, the Government should release a White Paper on GST revealing the proposal in details and initiate dialogue with traders on this one of the major reform of taxation system of India.

Both Mr. Bhartia & Mr. Khandelwal, reminded the Union Finance Minister about the solemn declaration made by the then Finance Minister Mr. P. Chidamabaram on the floor of the Parliament in the year 2007 to abolish Central Sales Tax completely by Year 2010 but regretted that since last two years, the CST has not been reduced gradually, which has created a question mark on the integrity of the Govt. Both the trade leaders have demanded that to fulfill its promise and to regain the confidence, the Finance Minister must declare abolition of CST from 1st April, 2011 in the forthcoming Union Budget itself.