Meerut: Thousands of cloth traders in and around Meerut began a three-day shutdown on Tuesday in protest of the central government’s decision to implement the GST Act from July 1. “The GST is a black law and we will not allow it to be implemented,” read one of the many posters put up by these traders in city markets.The protestors have alleged that the new tax regime is unfair and discriminatory, and it will adversely affect small traders. “We are all small traders. All of a sudden, the central government has come up with this new taxation system which will hurt our business. We cannot afford GST as we are not big industrialists,” said one of the agitating cloth merchants.The Kapda Udyog Sangharsh Samiti has organized the protest and has decided that the cloth market will stay shut for three days till June 29. The agitators have decided that they will also demonstrate outside the commissioner’s office in Meerut.The traders are of the opinion that they should have been kept outside the GST net. “Historically, there has never been any tax on cloth. Now, there will be a 20% tax on it. On top of that, there is this complex paper trail which will have to be maintained. We are ordinary people and most of us barely earn enough to make ends meet. Managing the new system will involve an additional cost that the traders will have to bear. We are not chartered accountants and we will not be able to handle the kind of paperwork which will be made mandatory after GST is implemented on July 1,” said Ashok Taneja, convenor of the Kapda Udyog Sangharsh Samiti.The traders are adamant that they will keep their shop shut for three days in protest and will march to the collectorate on June 29 and will submit a letter addressed to the Union finance minister outlining their concerns. “We will be on strike for three days. Thousands of shops in and around Meerut will stay closed. On June 29, traders will march to the collectorate to mark their protest and submit a letter addressed to Arun Jaitley,” said Ankur Goel, secretary of the Kapda Udyog Sangharsh Samiti.

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