Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday, July 23, clarified the Goods and Services Tax (GST) notices to small and micro traders, saying the state government would not pursue tax notices issued to traders for arrears on exempted goods and services over the past three years.
Siddaramaiah said the old tax arrears, linked to the UPI payments, “will not be pursued, provided all such traders register under the GST and begin paying GST moving forward,” PTI mentioned.
Asserting that “there was a confusion”, Siddaramaiah said the Central government has decided to impose a one per cent tax on these individuals.
Following this, traders agreed to call off their planned strike on July 25 in the city.
The protest had been triggered by tax notices linked to Unified Payment Interface (UPI) transactions, with traders in parts of Bengaluru and across Karnataka “calling for a boycott of UPI payments.” Also Read | ₹29 lakh GST notice in Haveri, Karnataka”>Wait, What! Vegetable trader gets ₹29 lakh GST notice in Haveri, Karnataka
“I called a meeting with small traders and others to discuss the issue of notices being issued to small traders, as notices were being issued to those with a turnover of more than ₹40 lakh. Around 9,000 notices were issued,” Siddaramaiah said.
‘TRADERS MUST REGISTER’
Siddaramaiah also emphasised that the traders must register with the Commercial Tax Department.
“The Central government has decided to impose a one per cent tax on these individuals… There was confusion among small traders about this…We will not collect taxes from traders dealing in exempted goods, even if notices have been issued. I have also instructed officials not to pursue cases related to notices for clearing arrears from the past two to three years,” he said.
“Traders must register. Registration is mandatory because everyone needs to be brought within the tax net,” he said.
The chief minister also clarified that there was no need for registration for exempted goods.
“There is no need to register with the Commercial Taxes Department for exempted goods. We will not take any action regarding such notices,” the chief minister reiterated.
