AGL 40.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.16 (-0.4%)
AIRLINK 129.53 Decreased By ▼ -2.20 (-1.67%)
BOP 6.68 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.15%)
CNERGY 4.63 Increased By ▲ 0.16 (3.58%)
DCL 8.94 Increased By ▲ 0.12 (1.36%)
DFML 41.69 Increased By ▲ 1.08 (2.66%)
DGKC 83.77 Decreased By ▼ -0.31 (-0.37%)
FCCL 32.77 Increased By ▲ 0.43 (1.33%)
FFBL 75.47 Increased By ▲ 6.86 (10%)
FFL 11.47 Increased By ▲ 0.12 (1.06%)
HUBC 110.55 Decreased By ▼ -1.21 (-1.08%)
HUMNL 14.56 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (1.75%)
KEL 5.39 Increased By ▲ 0.17 (3.26%)
KOSM 8.40 Decreased By ▼ -0.58 (-6.46%)
MLCF 39.79 Increased By ▲ 0.36 (0.91%)
NBP 60.29 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
OGDC 199.66 Increased By ▲ 4.72 (2.42%)
PAEL 26.65 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.15%)
PIBTL 7.66 Increased By ▲ 0.18 (2.41%)
PPL 157.92 Increased By ▲ 2.15 (1.38%)
PRL 26.73 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.19%)
PTC 18.46 Increased By ▲ 0.16 (0.87%)
SEARL 82.44 Decreased By ▼ -0.58 (-0.7%)
TELE 8.31 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (0.97%)
TOMCL 34.51 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.12%)
TPLP 9.06 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (2.84%)
TREET 17.47 Increased By ▲ 0.77 (4.61%)
TRG 61.32 Decreased By ▼ -1.13 (-1.81%)
UNITY 27.43 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.04%)
WTL 1.38 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (7.81%)
BR100 10,407 Increased By 220 (2.16%)
BR30 31,713 Increased By 377.1 (1.2%)
KSE100 97,328 Increased By 1781.9 (1.86%)
KSE30 30,192 Increased By 614.4 (2.08%)

NEW DELHI: Indian traders and shopkeepers will hold a nationwide protest next week against a hike in taxes on a range of products and services, including food grains and household items, that went into effect on Monday, a top official of a leading traders' group said.

"The 5% tax on a range of food products - which remained tax free so far - and hike in rates on other household items has increased the inflation burden on the public and traders," said Pravin Khandelwal, president of the Confederation of All India Traders, which represents more than 10 million small shopkeepers and wholesalers.

He said the group's members would launch a nationwide series of protest meetings on July 26, starting in Bhopal, a state capital in central India and a stronghold of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

Small traders and shopkeepers are a key constituency for Modi, who introduced the Goods and Services Tax (GST) system in 2017 to replace about 20 federal and state taxes and to help unify Asia's third-largest economy.

India's export curbs, tax hike to exacerbate global diesel, gasoline shortage

A tax increase was approved last month to 18% from 12% for certain goods and services, including kitchenware.

A finance ministry statement on Monday said the tax measures would include extending a 5% tax already imposed on branded food items such as rice, wheat, flour, pulses and dairy products to unbranded items sold in packages of up to 25 kilograms or 25 litres.

Analysts have said that higher taxes would put an additional burden on households that already face surging food and energy prices.

India's consumer price inflation hit an eight-year high of 7.79% in April and remainded above 7% in May and June.

While traders have said Modi's GST was an improvement over the previous complicated tax regime, they have also raised objections to some elements, such as the compliance burden for small retailers.

Comments

Comments are closed.