Goyal hears Rajasthan traders' grievances on GST, promises resolution
Jaipur, July 14 : Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday took feedback from Rajasthan's business community on GST and assured that their complaints and suggestions would be be presented in front of the GST Council.
"Our government understands the needs of traders and has empathy with their problems," he said a meeting with representatives of different trading and industrial units.
Goyal said that GST has helped the business community of India to be associated with the most honest and transparent tax system, and the way traders have adopted the system is quite admirable.
On this occasion, Om Prakash Mittal, who heads Laghu Udyog Bharati, said that 18 per cent GST on job work is too high and should be reduced.
CREDAI chairman Gopal Gupta said that consumers are unable to buy homes due to imposition of 19 per cent tax. New projects are stagnant and no new schemes have been coming to boost the projects.
The representatives of jewellery community complained that smuggling of gold and silver has increased with the implementation of GST while the marble stone traders said that mafia is dominating trade after GST implementation.
The sculptors raised a demand for revoking GST on idols of gods and goddesses while those engaged in heritage hotel industries also sought that the tax should not apply to them.
Goyal said that the GST Council, from time to time, has been making changes in the system after taking feedback from the trading communities at regular intervals. Working on their suggestions, GST rates have been slashed for around 25 per cent commodities which have benefited traders as well as the consumer, he added.
Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, who was also present, said that the problems of the trading community were presented strongly in front of the GST Council and eventually, the changes brought in by it have benefited the state's trade and industries.
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Spurious ointment racket busted; Delhi Police recovers material worth Rs 2 crore from Ghaziabad unit
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police has busted a major interstate racket allegedly involved in the manufacture, repackaging and nationwide sale of spurious Schedule-H medicines, an official said on Sunday.
Police have also located a manufacturing unit and seized counterfeit drugs and raw material worth over Rs 2.3 crore.
According to the police, two men -- Gaurav Bhagat, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad, and Shree Ram alias Vishal Gupta of northeast Delhi's Sabhapur -- have been arrested in the case, he said.
"The operation was carried out by the Crime Branch. The accused were engaged in producing and selling counterfeit versions of popular prescription ointments, including Betnovate-C and Clop-G, which are widely used for treating skin infections, allergies and sports-related injuries," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Aditya Gautam said in a statement.
The officer further said the spurious medicines were sold as genuine branded products, posing a serious risk to public health.
Acting on inputs, the Crime Branch team first conducted a raid at Teliwara in Sadar Bazar, one of the country's largest wholesale pharmaceutical and cosmetic markets.
"During the raid, a large quantity of counterfeit Schedule-H ointments was recovered. Subsequent technical analysis and follow-up intelligence led the team to a manufacturing unit operating from Meerpur Hindu village in the Loni area of Ghaziabad.
"A search of the premises resulted in the recovery of counterfeit medicines, huge quantities of raw chemicals, packing material, empty tubes bearing forged brand labels and machinery used for mixing, filling and sealing ointments," the DCP said.
He further said drug inspectors from the North and Central Zones of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, along with authorised representatives of the concerned pharmaceutical companies, conducted spot inspections and drew samples from the seized stock. They confirmed that the medicines were counterfeit and neither manufactured nor supplied by their companies.
The accused were also found to be operating without any valid licence to manufacture, store or sell pharmaceutical products, he added.
Police said that an FIR was registered at the Crime Branch police station on December 12 under various sections of the BNS and provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
"The seized material included around 1,200 tubes of spurious Betnovate-C ointment, over 2,700 tubes of fake Clop-G, more than 3,700 tubes of spurious Skin-Shine ointment, nearly 22,000 empty fake Clop-G tubes, over 350 kilograms of semi-prepared ointment, besides chemicals and manufacturing equipment," the DCP said.
He said further investigation is underway to trace the entire supply chain, including wholesalers, distributors, delivery handlers and retailers involved in the illegal trade.
