For many traders, trade fair is GST school

NEW DELHI: Ashutosh Gupta, a south Delhi businessman, realised only recently that he need not have paid GST for the past three months because his turnover was less than Rs 20 lakh. He learnt about this at the India International Trade Fair. The GST pavilion at Pragati Maidan has resolved the queries of confused traders on refunds, corrections in filed returns and passwords, among others.
Traders registered for VAT were mandatorily migrated to GST, which is why Gupta found himself filing for GST. The officials at the pavilion at the trade fair have advised him to submit an application on the GST portal for cancellation of his registration.
Rajesh Ranjan too received suggestion on an issue that was troubling him. He filed for IGST a month ago, but realised later that he had done so under a wrong cess category. “I sought directions on this on the GST portal, but did not receive a reply,” he said. At Pragati Maidan, he was told that a refund portal would be accessible soon and he could claim a refund.
Sanjeev Gupta from Safdarjung Enclave was confused about how to adjust the difference after reduction of GST from 28% to 18%. “I brought carpets and flooring goods paying 28% GST but I now have to charge only 18%,” he said. His query was on how to reconcile this.
Thanks to the GST pavilion, Nili Roy of Odisha, who sells silver filigree items, saved herself some trouble. She learnt that she could not sell her products if she did not have a casual GST registration. “I did not know I had to register,” she said. An official explained that all traders from other states or foreign countries would have to get a casual registration.
Deepak Mata, assistant commissioner, CGST, said that around 700 people visit the pavilion daily with queries. “We are able to satisfy most of them,” he said. A street play outside tells traders how simple GST is. Traders enjoy the plays, but disagree on the message. “Even chartered accountants are confused about GST,” Anil Sharma, an automobile spare parts trader, complained.