Khel Udyog members in HP, campaign against AAP
Jalandhar, November 6
“The AAP government must pay attention towards people of its own state rather than getting unnecessarily busy in the elections in Himachal Pradesh,” said Khel Udyog Sangh members, who are in the hill state to highlight the problems faced by the industry under the AAP regime. They are aiming to let people know that the AAP government has not done anything yet for Punjab’s industry.
Members said it was unfortunate that the problems of Punjab’s people were not being listened to by leaders, but they were busy campaigning in other state.
The Sangh has given an ultimatum till November 20 to the government. “If our demands are not met, we will start an agitation by taking support from every industrialist,” Sangh members rued.
Members of Khel Udyog Sangh had recently met Finance Taxation Commissioner Ajoy Sharma and Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema. The industrialists have been demanding the implementation of one-time settlement (OTS) policy and an end to frequent raids being conducted by the GST Department in the name of inspections. The OTS was implemented for 2013-2014, and the traders have been demanding to include cases till 2018 under the scheme. The traders said the problem was only aggravating as they couldn’t deal with the cumbersome procedure of the tax.
City traders had also handed over a memorandum to GST officials and requested them to stop conducting raids at industrial units. The memorandum had read, “We are witnessing that an environment of disruption due to too much inspection is creating hindrance in genuine trade practices. We request you to please stop this so that it may not rebuild the environment of ‘Inspector Raj’ in the state.”
Sangh convener Ravinder Dhir said “We have had enough with the government’s indifference, now it’s time to act,” he said. — TNS
Meet demands or face agitation
Khel Udyog Sangh members have said if the government fails to implement the one-time settlement policy and stop frequent raids by GST Department officials by November 20, they will start an agitation by taking support from every industrialist in the district.
