The Narendra Modi government’s new year gift to the nation is a bouquet of taxes long before the Union Budget which will be presented on February 1 and unprecedented inflation, the Congress said on Saturday.
At a press conference, general secretary Randeep Surjewala said the inflationary pressure is mounting, Wholesale Price Index (WPI) was 14.23% in November 2021 — highest in the last 10 years — and its impact is likely to be felt more imminently in the upcoming new year.
“In the new year get prepared to spend more on all items be it the daily use items/consumer goods or steel, cement and electrical items or some luxurious item. From buying daily use clothes and footwear to withdrawing our own money from ATMs or using the toll roads, everything is going to be expensive.”
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He listed out 13 essential, daily use consumer goods for which we will have to pay more.
The government had approved a proposal to increase the GST from 5% to 12% on apparel costing up to ₹1,000. The hike for now has been deferred till February in view of the Assembly elections in five States. The hike, Mr. Surjewala said, will have a cascading impact. As per the industry’s own analysis, 85% of the clothes sold are priced below ₹1,000. “Over 15 lakh jobs in main and ancillary units of the textile industry would be lost.” The unorganised sector will also be deeply impacted especially the powerloom and the handloom weavers.
The GST rate on footwear (costing up to ₹1,000 per pair) has also been hiked from 5% to 12%. It is an attack on the poor and common people, he said. The “cloud kitchens”, he pointed out, will now attract 5% GST as they have been brought under the food delivery and restaurant services. The prices of the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) will go up by 10%.
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“As if this is not enough, the RBI has approved increase in the charge on ATM cash withdrawal after free transactions. According to the RBI, banks will now charge ₹21 per transaction after the free transactions.”
The rides booked through app aggregators like Ola and Uber will also get costlier with the government ending the exemption for this section. And in case you want to ditch the taxi and buy your own vehicle, that too, Mr. Surjewala said, will cost more since many of the manufacturers have increased the price saying the input cost has increased.
“The simple fact is that if there is Modi there will always be inflation.” He said only the voters of the five States that are going to the polls can arrest inflation. It was the West Bengal Assembly election results, he said, that forced the government to marginally reduce the fuel prices.
