GST will not hurt common man: Etala

Hyderabad, June 29: Telangana Finance Minister Etala Rajender on Thursday claimed that the Goods & Services Tax (GST) would not hurt the common man.

Speaking to media persons after holding a review meeting at the State Secretariat with the top officials on implementation of GST in Telangana State, Etala asked traders not to harass or confuse the common man on GST. He said traders could register their concerns on toll free number 18004253787 and they would be addressed by the government. He said almost 82% of traders have already registered themselves for GST. Of 2.70 lakh traders, nearly 1.70 have registered their names and nearly 25,000 more traders are likely to register by the end of deadline on July 5.

Etala said Telangana was on top in collection of taxes and it was taking all measures to ensure that common people and traders do not face any inconvenience. He said Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao has written to the Centre seeking GST exemption for Beedi Industry, Granite Industry, Irrigation and Drinking Water projects. He said that the Centre would be compensating losses due to GST to the States with 14% GDP. Since Telangana is having a GDP of 17.9%, it will not get any compensation from the Centre, he said. (INN)