CM Siddaramaiah says 3-yr-old tax arrears won't be pursued, traders call off strike
Bengaluru, Jul 23 (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday announced that the state government will not pursue tax notices issued to traders for arrears on exempted goods and services over the past three years. Following this, traders agreed to call off their planned strike on July 25 in the city.
The protest had been triggered by tax notices linked to Unified Payment Interface (UPI) transactions, with traders in parts of Bengaluru and across Karnataka "calling for a boycott of UPI payments."
According to the Commercial Taxes Department, around 6,000 such notices were issued across the state based on UPI transaction data.
"Old tax arrears will not be pursued, provided all such traders register under the GST and begin paying GST moving forward," Siddaramaiah added.
"I told the traders not to go on strike or stage a demonstration at Freedom Park. They have agreed to withdraw their agitation," the chief minister told reporters after meeting with the trader community.
Siddaramaiah said, "We will not collect taxes from traders dealing in exempted goods, even if notices have been issued. I have also instructed officials not to pursue cases related to notices for clearing arrears from the past two to three years."
Trade bodies, including those from the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI), raised concerns about confusion among small traders over GST notices, many of which include loan amounts and personal transactions.
The chief minister said the government will not pursue these arrears and will ensure traders do not face problems—provided they register with the Commercial Tax Department.
"Traders must register. Registration is mandatory because everyone needs to be brought within the tax net," he said.
He clarified that businesses dealing exclusively in exempted goods will not be required to register.
"We will not pursue notices pertaining to goods and services that are exempted—such as bread, milk, essential food items, fruits and vegetables, flowers, and tender coconut," Siddaramaiah explained.
He also announced the setting up of a helpline.
"There is no need to register with the Commercial Taxes Department for exempted goods. We will not take any action regarding such notices," the chief minister reiterated.
The chief minister, in a statement, clarified that notices were issued only to traders with UPI transactions exceeding Rs 40 lakh, primarily to prompt GST registration.
Siddaramaiah reaffirmed his commitment to supporting small traders and ensuring lawful business practices.
He said the government will assist in timely tax payments and strengthen the existing helpline for better accessibility.
Karnataka ranks second in India in GST collection and shares 50 per cent of its GST revenue with the Centre, as determined by the GST Council chaired by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, according to the statement from the chief minister’s office.
The government reiterated its focus on empowering small traders and boosting purchasing power through various initiatives.
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NEET-UG: 2 more held, role of several NTA officers under scanner; CBI focussing on source of leak
New Delhi (PTI): The CBI has arrested two more persons in connection with the NEET (UG) paper-leak case, with the role of several officers of the National Testing Agency (NTA) and other organisations, who had access to the printing press where the papers were printed, coming under the scanner, officials said on Thursday.
The agency has arrested Dhananjay Lokhanda from Ahilyanagar and Manisha Waghmare from Pune and conducted searches at 14 locations across the country in the last 24 hours, they said.
The CBI is focussing on identifying the source of the leak that has caused massive disappointment to lakhs of aspirants eyeing a seat in undergraduate medical courses, which are allotted after the highly-competitive examination, the officials said.
According to the CBI probe so far, the involvement of public servants in the leak cannot be ruled out.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested three individuals from Jaipur -- Mangilal Biwal, Vikas Biwal and Dinesh Biwal -- along with Yash Yadav from Gurugram and Shubham Khairnar from Nashik.
Khairnar was in touch with Yadav and informed him in April that Mangilal Biwal was ready to pay Rs 10-12 lakh for arranging leaked NEET (UG) 2026 questions for his younger son.
Khairnar allegedly provided 500 to 600 questions from the leaked paper to Yadav, the officials said, adding that the questions could have helped score enough marks to get a seat in a reputed medical college.
Mangilal Biwal allegedly procured the paper from Yadav, who was known to his elder son Vikas Biwal from an NEET coaching in Rajasthan's Sikar. The deal between Mangilal Biwal and Yadav was for Rs 10 lakh, if 150 questions from the question bank matched with those in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) paper, the officials said.
Mangilal Biwal shared the paper with his son and further distributed it among relatives.
Yadav also told Vikas Biwal to find additional candidates for the questions to recover some of the money that he had spent on getting those, the officials said.
An analysis of digital devices has given the agency incriminating chats, leaked question papers and other digital evidence. The CBI will subject the devices to a forensic examination to get the deleted data, the officials said.
The federal agency has registered an FIR and formed teams to probe the alleged NEET (UG) paper leak that resulted in the cancellation of the exam held on May 3.
The NEET (UG) 2026 was conducted across 551 Indian cities and at 14 overseas centres. Nearly 23 lakh candidates had registered for the test, which was administered by the NTA at centres across the country.
According to the NTA, information regarding alleged malpractice was received on the evening of May 7, four days after the examination was held. The NTA said the inputs were escalated to central agencies the following morning for "independent verification and necessary action".
The Rajasthan Police's Special Operations Group (SOG) has claimed that a "guess paper" for chemistry, allegedly circulated among students ahead of the examination, had approximately 410 questions, including roughly 120 that appeared in the test.
