CPI to prepare memorandum on high GST rates for MSMEs
The party also said the memorandum on GST requirements will be submitted to the government by all the MPs elected from Tamil Nadu.
The Communist Party of India (CPI) is in the process of preparing a memorandum on the GST requirements for the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector, which is feeling the pinch of higher tax rates, said K Subbarayan, the party’s MP-elect, in Coimbatore, reported PTI.
He claimed that the sector was seriously affected due to the higher GST rates in India, particularly Tamil Nadu, where more than 50,000 industries were closed in the last two years.
The memorandum on GST requirements will be submitted to the government by all the MPs elected from Tamil Nadu, he added.
Subbbarayan also raised the question whether the Centre was ready to come out with a whitepaper on the status of MSMEs in the country after the introduction of GST, after which it was reported that more than six lakh industries were shut.
The CPI leader had won from nearby Tirupur constituency, a hub for MSME and knitwear industries.
In contrast, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April 2019 maintained that the implementation of GST had benefited industries by bringing transparency in doing business.
He explained that there is now a control on price rises as “98 percent of things are under the 18 percent GST tax slabs.” Modi also urged youth to think of innovative ways to develop their businesses.
He added that India has jumped 65 places in ease of doing business to end at the 77th rank. “In the coming years, our target is to reach the 50th rank in ease of doing business,” he added.
In March, the GST Council has notified its decision to have two threshold limits for exemption from registration and payment of GST. This applied to MSMEs which are suppliers of goods.
The limits are Rs 40 lakh and Rs 20 lakh, and states will be given the option to decide on the limit. The threshold for service provider MSMEs will continue to be Rs 20 lakh. In special category states, this threshold will be Rs 10 lakh.
