Plea to halt raids on shops

KOCHI: The 33rd annual general body meeting of the Kerala Merchants Union has appealed to the government to stop sales tax raids on individual business establishments in the true spirit of the times when VAT and electronic filing of returns had made the operations of business establishments transparent.

President of the union K. M. John said that the general body meeting discussed the recent sales tax raids on optical outlets and manufacturing units across Kerala. The union felt that these raids would not yield the desired result of higher revenue for the government.

If the government felt that there was tax drain in any sector, offices of organisations like the Merchants Union could be taken into confidence to discuss the issue, he said. The entire sector should be taken into confidence to discuss the issues involved, he said and called on the government for a more friendly approach.