AHMEDABAD: The traders in Surat have called off their two-week-long strike against
the imposition of five per cent GST on textiles following the Centre''s
assurance to look into their demand for its rollback.Thousands of textile merchants in Surat had shut
their shops for the last two weeks to protest the new tax structure.The
announcement to withdraw the protest was made yesterday by the traders who met
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Delhi on July 17."During the meeting, Jaitley assured us that the issue
of the Goods and Services Tax on cloth will be taken up in the next GST Council
meeting to be held on August 5. Thus, we have decided to call off the strike
till that date," said Manoj Agrawal, a textile trader.
"If no favourable decision comes in that
GST Council meeting, we will think of going on strike again to raise our demand
for abolishing the five per cent GST," he said.Surat has one of the biggest textile markets in the
country.On July 3, thousands of protesting traders had gathered near the
Ring Road in Surat, where the main market is situated, demanding the scrapping
of GST on textiles.Police then wielded batons
to disperse the agitators who allegedly engaged in stone-pelting, an official
earlier said.On July 8, the textile traders organised a silent march in
Ahmedabad to protest against the five per cent GST imposed on the sector.
Source: Business Today, India Thursday, 11 January 2018