GST woes: Come Uttarayan, fewer kites to flank Allahabad skies

GST woes plague the small time manufacturers who are struggling to comply; prices up 35%; production down 40%; shipments to other states down too

Come Uttarayan (January 14), fewer kites would flank the Ahmedabad skies — kite makers here, a largely unorganised industry, say that this year production is down by 35-40 per cent right ahead of the Kite Festival. Manufacturers complain that complications due of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) have thrown the micro and small enterprises (largely home-factories) out of gear — while the input costs and as a result the prices of kites have gone up, orders from outside Gujarat have also shrunk. 

Gujarat celebrates the Makar Sankranti (Uttarayan) in full fervour — with millions flying kites in mid-Jan. In