The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has called for a nationwide bandh on Friday against several “arbitrary” and “draconian” provisions of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
CAIT president BC Bhartia and secretary general Praveen Khandelwal said about 1500 big and small organizations from all states including Delhi will protest against the GST amendments on Friday.
“Traders and transporters will not log on to the GST portal in a bid to register their anguish and resentment,” they said.
They said more than 8 crore traders belonging to more than 40,000 business organisations across the country will join their ‘Bharat Vyapar Bandh’ by closing down their shutters in protest.
The All India Transporters Welfare Association, one of the foremost apex bodies of India’s Road Transport Sector, has extended support to the bandh.
“All state level-transport associations have confirmed their support to AITWA in this one-day non-operation of transport in protest of the fuel price hike and scrapping of new E-way bill laws introduced by Government of India,” AITWA president Mahendra Arya said.
“The nature of the movement is to reject booking and movement of all E-Way Bill oriented goods for one day. All transport companies are asked to park their vehicles between 6 am to 8 pm as a symbolic protest,” Arya said.
He said all transport godowns will display the protest banners and customers will be approached by transport companies not to book or load any goods on February 26.
CAIT said several leading national and state-level organisations of small-scale industries, hawkers, women entrepreneurs, self-entrepreneurs and other sectors of trade have offered support to the bandh.
The Hawkers Joint Action Committee, a national organisation of hawkers, too is in favour of the vyapar bandh.
What will be affected?
–Transport services in the country could be affected.
–Markets likely to remain partially shut, depending on respective associations’ decision.
–Essential services, medicine shops, milk vegetable shops, etc won’t be affected on February 26.
The traders’ body is also demanding the issuance of new press notes in the FDI policy to curb the notoriety and arbitrariness of foreign companies in the e-commerce trade.