'Unorganised steel players may face problem post GST rollout'

New Delhi: The unorganised section of the steel sector may face some problem in the initial days after the GST rollout, an industry body said. The GST, which will subsume over a dozen taxes, including excise, service tax, VAT and other local levies, takes effect from midnight tonight.

The unorganised section in the steel industry may face a little pain post GST rollout as all of them do not make use of technology, Indian Stainless Steel Development Association (ISSDA) said.

"Organised players do their preparations. They put manpower, resources, hire consultants and Charted Accounts (CAs). But unorganised sector lacks that....the confusion will remain for some time... but yes they will learn with time," ISSDA President K K Pahuja told PTI.

The unorganised sector will have to go through a learning cycle to adapt the new tax structure. This will be more IT- enabled. The number of IT-enabled stakeholders in the unorganised sector is not significant.

"They will have to get tech-compliant. People evading taxes would not be able to survive any longer," he said.

Big companies are already under the tax net and are technology driven so they will get into the system fast, Pahuja said.

"For unorganised sector, the rest of the year will be a learning year... like during post-demonetisation phase, I am anticipating, as any problem will come and government will give some relaxation...

"And for the first three to six months, unorganised sector be it from steel or textile, they may face problem in the new system but as the time will pass, they will learn and adapt the new rules," he said.