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The All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) has announced indefinite strike from October 1 to press with their demands after talks with the Union government failed. The transporters said the twin issues of toll- and barrier-free movement besides removal of tax deducted at source (TDS) have not been addressed.
According to AIMTC, eight million commercial vehicles will be off the roads across the country. "The callous approach of the government to this sector has led to the convening of an emergent meeting of the managing committee, where the members aired their disappointment with operations getting economically unviable and the government's apathy. We had a word with the ministry of road, transport and highway but it didn't yield fruitful results. So, we decided to suspend our operations nationwide from the morning of October 1, 2015," said Bhim Wadhwa, president, AIMTC.
Citing a 2010 study by the Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta, Wadhwa said stopping at checkposts and barriers causes colossal loss of public money to the tune of Rs 87,000 crore annually or three per cent of the GDP. According to the current exchange rates, the amount would exceed Rs 1 lakh crore, he added.
Transporters cannot sustain operations in light of corruption, harassment and time delays at toll plazas and barriers. "We have decided not to pay toll on road and want that the revenue be collected as indirect tax," said Wadhwa. He called for the removal of toll plazas across the country.
According to him, the levy of TDS on the transport sector has resulted in a lot of confusion. Besides, there are other practical difficulties such as cash-flow constriction, and problems in keeping records, collecting TDS certificates, reconciling and taking refund of TDS. The working capital is raised at a high cost of 12-14 per cent.
He added that the sector was already going through deep financial crunch with hair-thin margins and abnormally delayed payments. Now the operators also incur interest cost on working capital raised at high rates.
