Can’t buy medicines amid net ban: Kashmir traders

SRINAGAR: Traders in Kashmir said they were facing difficulties in procuring life-saving drugs, baby food and other fast-moving consumer goods. The reason, they said, was that e-way bill generation under the goods and services tax of nearly 60 traders in central GST pool had been blocked because they could not file their returns amid the continuing Internet shutdown in the Valley since August 5.

The government said it was looking into the matter on a case-by-case basis and that if the traders had not been able to file returns after July, their suspension would be lifted within two days.

“We are at it and hopefully we will resolve the issue within two days. I assure you that there will be no problem after a few days,” HB Negi, commissioner-central GST, Jammu told ET.


Traders said their business was suffering for no fault on their part. “When a trader puts our GST number in the system, it says that the bill cannot be generated as we haven’t been able to file returns. This stops the transaction completely and if we do it outside the GST system, we will be held responsible. We are paying for the sins we never committed,” a trader in Srinagar, whose business faced hurdles due the suspension of GST e-way generation, said on condition of anonymity.

An official dealing with the GST issue said that the list of 60 traders included businessmen dealing with life-saving drugs and baby food. “We are working on the issue and only those traders who are habitual of not filing the returns even before August will face action,” he said.

In the central pool of GST there are around 3,200 traders from J&K and most from Kashmir could not file their returns due to the Internet blockade.