Siddaramaiah waives off GST arrears for small traders, but insists on their registration

The Karnataka government has assured small traders that no pending GST arrears will be recovered from them, provided they register for GST.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah made this announcement after a meeting with representatives from several trade associations meant to address their concerns regarding GST notices issued by the Commercial Taxes Department.

The associations stated there was no clarity in the GST notices issued to the small traders, as the GST calculation included the loan amounts and personal transactions too. The traders sought to pay only the applicable taxes, and direct access to the department officials to resolve the problems sans intermediaries.

Siddaramaiah clarified that GST notices had only been issued to those whose UPI transactions exceeded Rs 40 lakh, with the intention of prompting traders to register under GST. He assured that essential food items like milk, vegetables, meat, and fruits, which are tax-exempt, would not be subject to tax collection, even if notices have been issued.

The Chief Minister emphasised that old pending tax amounts mentioned in the notices would be waived provided the traders compulsorily register under GST. He also noted that discontinuing UPI transactions would affect business activity and added that only 9,000 traders had received 18,000 notices related to the last two-three years in the state.

The CM asserted that the government does not intend to harass traders and would always stand in support of small-scale businesses.

"GST rates are decided by the GST Council, chaired by the Union Finance Minister, and 50 per cent of GST collections are shared with the state. Karnataka currently ranks second in the country in GST collections," added the CM.

The traders who had launched a "No UPI" campaign and boycotted sale of essential commodities like milk while staging "black tea" protest by selling black tea across the city, assured the government of withdrawing the protest planned for July 25.  

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