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. Many say GST has also made it difficult for them to compete with other organised players since it has pushed up the price of their service. Ramila Parmar, who is part of one such cooperative said that they provide various housekeeping and staff services to corporates and individual households. "Now, when it comes to companies the GST is factored in. When it comes to placing a woman as a cook in a household, the client does not factor in GST, but we still have to pay the tax," said Parmar. She said this means a substantial part of their income goes towards GST. "A cooperative keeps a percentage of what it earns to expand its service. Due to GST, this margin has come down and we don't have enough capital in hand. This inhibits our ability to help find work for more women," said Parmar. 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. Sometimes they may not even have to pay GST, but the moment small and micro-enterprises they come in contact with the formal sector through their clients, they will find themselves caught in it," said Shylendra.

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