services tax

APMC

Walmart

Bengaluru

KR Market

Yogaraj Bhat

Kannada

Ganesh

Duniya Vijay

Baba Sehgal

THEATRE CONFUSION

SHOPS SHUT

Netizens share fi rst GST bills online

While traders stayed resentful, citizens counted the extra bucks they shelled out, and sang about itThe goods andhas been rolled out and residents are flashing the bills to show the deducted tax under the reform. However, there is a certain amount of confusion and resentment visible among the tax-payers.One of the immediate fallout of the implementation of the GST is that traders have started deregistering their brands at the Agriculture Produce Market Committee () to avoid the 5% tax bracket on branded pulses and food grains against the exemption on unbranded food items.Ramesh Chandra Lahoti, president APMC Bangalore said, “Around 25 millers have applied for the deregistration today and more than one lakh traders are following the suit across the country. I don’t know how the government has got the idea that merchants make 30-150% profit on food grains. If that was the case, I would have overtaken.” Also, the sale of unbranded food grains may result in a spurt of spurious food products.The traders aren't happy because there wasn't a framed discussion with the government. They believe and there is still time and the government can hold talks to mitigate a game plan.Meanwhile, even the consumers aren't satisfied with the reform. Many people, who frequent small restaurants, realised how the 18% tax on dining out will actually burn a hole in their pockets. In their opinion, the government has failed to take into consideration the concern of the common man.Somshekhar V, a resident of JP Nagar said, “Now to have a cup of coffee from a regular restaurant consumer will have to pay 18% tax. This is outrageous and is beyond my understanding. I went for a coffee and was surprised to see that on Rs 32 for a cup of coffee tax of Rs 6 has been charged.”“It is true that eating out is considered as a luxury but they could have categorised the tax based on the type of restaurants. The Indian model of GST is simple; it is a good reform but has been implemented without proper thought,” he added.has a major chunk of its youth in working population and hence more than luxury, eating out for many is a necessity. Gaurav Singh, a techie residing in BTM Layout, said, "The 18% tax that is now being levied uniformly in all categories of restaurants and this is atrocious; it is not that under VAT it was less, but burdening the end customer with each passing day won’t help the economy grow."“A simple breakfast at a regular joint that was priced around Rs 375 attracted a tax of Rs 66. Many goods, items and services under GST have been given special status but this aspect has been ignored, which shows that those sitting in the government are not concerned with common people’s needs,” he added.Meanwhile, many small time traders and business owners have started uniting under a joint forum as they are facing the brunt of not registering under GST network first hand and are also confused on how they will charge their customer for products being sold by them.Small business owners located inarea have already started looking for legal help to understand the nuances of GST.Confusion among the realtorsThere are confusions among realtors with their partially completed inventory as construction material have been taxed under different categories ranging from 12 to 28%, which initially might result in a dip is sales. Deregistration of brands by traders has raised the concern of sale of spurious food grains as branded stuff added a sense of responsibility. Hospitals and medical establishments have welcomed the new tax regime but are wary that though the medical part is under the exemption, services at private nursing homes will attract tax and this, in turn, might result in hospitalisation costing more.GST songs hit YouTubeMusicians too seemed to have made the most of GST as they penned songs related to GST. Sandalwood's famous director and lyricistpenned a funny song on GST wherein he said how people have to cough up GST for everything including puking.The making of the song which went viral on social media had picturised two popularstarsandsinging the song. Meanwhile, rapper-composerhas launched a rap song on the newly introduced Goods and Services Tax (GST), which is India's biggest tax reform since Independence.On Saturday, Sehgal launched the song on YouTube and tweeted: "Laagu ho gaya GST (GST has been launched) now people show some honesty".In some of the single screens in Bengaluru like Vaishanvi, Kamakya, the morning show ran with the old rate, while they shifted to GST rates with the matinee show. However, in other theatres like Eshwari, Santosh and Uma, the shows began with the GST. These theatres decided to imprint GST seal on the old printed tickets. With the new GST rates, the tickets of Kannada and non-Kannada films were more or less the same. In Santosh theatre, the second class ticket prices rose from Rs 80 to Rs 95 and the balcony ticket from Rs 100 to Rs 115 and not to mention that the theatre personnel had tough time giving out change. The multiplexes had little or no issues related to GST.Many shops in Majestic, Jayanagar Fourth Block and other places had downed their shutters till afternoon. Even those shops in Gandhi Bazaar, that were open in the morning, refused to sell the goods as they were still not clear about the GST prices. These shops began their sales only by late afternoon.Meanwhile, people took to social media to share their first bills of the day. Describing their first tryst with GST, netizens shared their bills, mostly food bills, with friends on WhatsApp, Facebook or through Twitter. Some even posted their hotel bills of Friday and Saturday to highlight the impact of GST on their pocket. GST Council also started a hashtag #TrystwithGST to enable people to share their experience by tweeting a picture of first GST receipts. A bill showed how the cost of a South Indian meal has gone up with GST. A Masala Dosa and a Sambar Vada cost Rs 148 on Saturday against Rs 133 on Friday at the same restaurant in Bengaluru. Some of the receipts at the grocery stores posted online show that five percent state GST and five percent central GST was levied on total purchase. Some people also shared bills, which had no breakup of GST.(With inputs from agencies)