Plywood manufacturers from Yamunanagar, Asia' largest plywood hub have taken to an indefinite strike from Friday, July 14 against the imposition of GST and market fee of 2%.
Nearly 1100 small-scale unit owners and 90,000 labourers from the town employed with the plywood trade are impacted by GST, and have taken to a dharna on the national highway.
Traders said that GST of 28%, 18% on raw materials and a 2% market fee has made it unviable to run factories.
Prior to GST, factories paid 15% tax, that included 4.2% VAT on purchase of raw material.
Devender Chawla, the national president of the All India Plywood Manufacturers Association, was quoted asking, "How can they impose market fee when it was said there wont be another tax after the imposition of GST?"
28% GST has increased production costs by 24% leaving the plywood hub and industry fuming.
Units from nearby towns such as Kaithal, Rohtak and NCR too joined the protest while dealers and plywood units from Punjab, UP, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand espoused similar frustration.
Adjoining area of Jagadhri, known as the brass city is also reported to have joined the dharna.
Haryana Assembly Speaker Kanwar Pal Gurjar after understanding the situation assured a meeting with Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, to find a solution to the traders' issue.
Units in the town, by a rough estimate, contribute 1200 crore in turnover, or nearly 40% of total plywood production of the country. The production of plywood is attributed to availability of poplar tree.
The hub has been producing bulk of plywood in India, along with sugar machinery, paper machinery and equipment for petrochemical plants.
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