TLI Staff
New Delhi: Adding to the headache of the Modi government which has been facing farmers’ ire over three controversial agri laws, transports body All India Transporters Welfare Association (AITWA) has decided to keep 40 lakh trucks off the road on February 26 to protest against sharp increase in diesel prices and penal provisions under Goods and Services Tax (GST).
While extending its support to the nationwide bandh called by traders grouping Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), the transports’ association said that it had been writing letters to the Government of India on unviable pricing policy of diesel and “impracticable” E-way bills under GST.
“AITWA demands abolishing the E-way bill as the newly introduced E-invoice is good enough for preventing tax evasion. Vehicles may be tracked by the Government using Fast Tag connectivity to E-invoice. Transporters should not be subject to any penalty by the Government for any time-based compliance target of transit. Diesel prices should be reduced and mechanisms need to be discussed and created with the transport industry for future regulation,” said Mahendra Arya, National President of AITWA.
Fuel prices have gone through the roof across the country with Centre refusing to reduce duties on diesel and petrol. Weak opposition has ensured government pocketing high duties on the two essential items.
Lodging protest against some provisions of the GST, the transporters’ body said that complying with the new rule has meant a higher and costly compliance burden, with penalties running into lakhs of rupees, for circumstantial delays. This may lead to completely shutting their shop, it noted.
AITWA has called for scrapping of Section 129 of CGST Act, 2017 related to penalties introduced under GST laws.
“All transport companies are asked to park their vehicles between 6 am to 8 pm as a symbolic protest. All transport godowns will display the protest banners. All customers will be approached by transport companies not to book or load any goods on February 26, 2021,” announced AITWA Mahendra Arya on Saturday.
Delhi-based traders’ body CAIT had earlier announced ‘Bharat Bandh’ on February 26 demanding penal provisions in the GST law. It said that all commercial markets across the country will remain closed to mark the protest.
As per plan, traders will stage dharnas (protests) at as many as 1,500 places across the country. It has urged the GST Council to keep in abeyance the “draconian” provisions of GST. The traders lobby group has also called for a review of the GST system and its tax slabs to simplify and rationalise it to reduce compliance burden.