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Vikram Sharma
Tribune News Service
Jammu, June 16
Once again, traders and industrialists of the state are at loggerheads over Lakhanpur toll post, the gateway to Jammu and Kashmir, with traders demanding its abolition and the latter pressing for keeping it intact.
Following the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on July 8, 2017, all states in the country removed border check posts but the J&K Government is yet to take a call on the issue.
The traders, demanding abolishment of toll on goods and services being charged at Lakhanpur, are of opinion that the remission or exemption in toll to the state industrialists in raw material and finished products but levying of toll on the former’s goods and services only defied the GST spirit of ‘one nation one tax’.
The state government had taken shield of its special status to protect toll in the state, which was still being charged from vehicles carrying goods. Industrialists had an edge over traders as industrial goods were exempted from toll in the state, they alleged.
“The toll tax at Lakhanpur should be abolished and as far as safeguarding few products being manufactured by the industries in the state goes, the government should find some other alternative to offer incentives to the industries instead of charging toll on traders’ goods,” said Deepak, general secretary, Traders Federation, Nehru Market.
He alleged that collection of state toll tax at Lakhanpur had resulted in huge increase of transportation cost, hardships to drivers and cleaners, inflation and above all a den of corruption. He alleged that taking the benefit of toll tax exemption, industrialists imported goods in the name of raw material and sold these in the open market to earn huge profits. “The government should enquire about the raw material imported by these industrialists and used in production and all should be placed on record,” said Deepak Gupta.
Meanwhile, Industrial Associations of Jammu province raised serious concerns in respect of repeated attempts of some people with vested interest to remove the toll.
“Some people with vested interests are bent upon destroying the industrial sector of J&K by raising their voice for removal of toll tax at Lakhanpur to allow the import/ export of unaccounted goods in/ from the state, which may result in huge financial losses to the state exchequer as well as to the industrial sector,” said Lalit Mahajan, president, Bari Brahamna Industrial Association.
In the post GST regime, the import of industrial goods from outside the state has been increased manifolds. “In case of toll tax removal, the unit holders will have no option but to close down their units, which may result in conversion of their working capital/ term loan in NPA, mass scale retrenchment of around two lakh industrial labourers, loss of crores state government, social unrest amongst retrenched industrial workers and other negative impacts on economy of the state,” the BBIA president said.
Meanwhile, both traders and industrialists have separately approached Governor Satya Pal Malik for due consideration of their demands and have left the decision on the government.