Summary:
Poor working women who united under various co-operatives to get themselves better work and income say the women's cooperatives are finding the GST to be a stumbling block as it reduced the working capital available with them. She said an exception needs to be made for women's cooperatives that help poor working women trying to earn a living. HS Shylendra, who specialises in rural financing at IRMA and has been closely associated with the co-operatives said that for women's cooperatives it is a kind of a double whammy. "Apart from tax on income and turnover, there is this problem of procedures associated with the taxes like GST which is extremely cumbersome for such cooperatives," said Shylendra. "Women's cooperatives often work at the grassroots and don't have access to professional support to help them navigate the complex tax labyrinths..