GST regime: Truckers caught in twists and turns

Three days into new regime, truck owners across India are struggling to smoothen the flow of cargo

Not all is well with the unorganised transportation segment, mainly truck owners, post implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Three days into the new tax regime, truck owners across India are struggling to smoothen the flow of cargo amid lack of clarity on procedures.

"We cannot understand whom to ask for the GST number. Every day we are getting to know something new," said P Sukeshan, president of the Cochin Goods Transport Association. The association operates mainly in Kerala and has 120 truck owner members with about 3,000 trucks.

"We are also taking consignments without GST numbers as there is no clarity on what is needed. Cargo movement is affected as we are unable to understand how the GST works," he added.

Transportation in the north zone of the country is also impacted. With Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) still to accept the new tax regime, cargo flow has come to a standstill.

"Movement is halted as there are no dispatches to J&K. Consignments are pending and we do not know when they will be dispatched," said Anil Kumar Gupta, managing director of Delhi-based Ankur Road Lines. The company normally plies 20-25 trucks daily. However, since July 1, not a single company truck has hit the road.

"Suppliers are not registered for the GST and so no consignments are coming. There are no dispatches at all. We do not know how we are going to work in the coming days," said Mahendra Agarwal of the Kolkata-based Assam-Kerala Roadways. The transport provider plies outsourced trucks in West Bengal and Jharkhand.

Though the mood of the transportation segment is negative, not all transport providers within the unorganised segment are negatively impacted due to GST. A lot has also been dependent on the readiness of the service provider.

"We absolutely have no problem in doing business post GST. With octroi gone we are expecting the transit time to come down by five to six hours for a 1,000 km journey," said A L Goyal, managing director of Mumbai-based BLR Logistics. The company owns 400 trucks and normally plies 500 trucks per day.

Meanwhile, transporters are also waiting for business to pick up after implementation of the GST. "Cargo movement was smooth from day one but now we expect it to pick volume pace as well," said Ishwar Chand Goel, general secretary of the Ahmedabad-based Panchsheel Transport Corporation. The company operates mainly in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh and outsources about 200 trucks.

While part of the unorganised transportation segment is struggling to adapt to the new tax regime, organised players such as BlueDart are witnessing seamless transit as it plugs itself into the new system.

"We have been working for the last 12-18 months to get GST ready. Our volumes are not at all affected and it has been a smooth transit," said Ketan Kulkarni, senior vice-president and head, marketing, corporate communications and sustainability, BlueDart. "Since our customers are also part of the organised industry, we are in a position to take advantage of the GST," he said.

The company expects transit time to improve and has its operations and network team working on formalising a new cargo delivery period.

"By the end of the week we will have a clear picture how cargo movement will take place in the coming weeks," said Bal Malkit Singh, chairman of the All India Motor Transport Congress.