New Delhi, Sept 25 (KNN) Post implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the scheduled roll out of eWay bill norm from October, the small transport operators are worried of the complication that the sector which is already struggling under the new tax regime, will have to face problems in compliance.

Talking to KNN, Naveen Kumar Gupta, Secretary General of All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) explained the situation.

Kumar said that while for the operators that go on full loads and work for bigger enterprises will not have much problem complying with the eWay bill, it is the small load operators that have consolidated consignments that are at stake in the new provision that is to roll out from next month.

Commenting on the situation of the sector, Kumar said that post implementation of the GST, their businesses have already slashed to almost 70 per cent in July-August time period.  This was mainly due to the confusions both among the manufacturers that didn’t have fresh orders as well as the transport operators learning the new taxation.

With the sector already grappling with issues, the eWay bill will add to the burden.

Citing the prime problem in the bill, he informed that according to the guidelines of eWay bill under GST, there his defined movement of goods in terms of the distance and days in which it is to be covered. While big loads can comply with it very easily, the trucks that have smaller consignment loads take time to take off for the fleet.

The time they take to get the things done alright, the eWay bill validity would expire by then, something that is concerning the sector the most.

Lamenting further, Kumar said that like the export sector, the problem of capital crunch is another big concern for the transporters.

“On a turnover of 1 crore, we are to pay 12 per cent FCM, which we need to reimburse later, while the filing is to be done on a monthly basis, the rebate is going to take time, making the capital crunch a new dark reality for the sector” said Kumar.

Kumar raised that while the GST was meant to be a One Nation One Tax One Market scheme for the country, the transport sector being divided under segments in GST is against the very essence of the taxation.

“The uncertainty around the new norm is prevalent, there have been truckers calling in everyday to get queries resolved, but we ourselves don’t have many substantial answers to the queries” he added. (KNN/DA)