22 states remove border check posts to facilitate smooth changeover to GST

Abolishing check posts will facilitate faster movement of trucks and cut losses that were previously incurred by long periods of waiting at state borders for clearance.

Twenty-two states, including West Bengal, Delhi, Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have abolished check posts to expedite a smooth changeover to the new tax regime for business and consumers.

Most states have abolished border check posts for a smooth changeover to the Goods and Services Tax.(HT FILE PHOTO)

Eight states including Assam are yet to abolish the check posts.

Until now, trucks had to wait for hours at border check posts to get required approvals for moving to their destinations which resulted in unnecessary delays in transporting goods which also impacted the economy negatively.

On Monday, top government officials met to review the implementation of the new tax and its impact on the consumers. The meeting chaired by cabinet secretary P K Sinha was attended by revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia, senior members of the central board of excise and customs (CBEC) and other secretaries from key departments.

Sinha asked all officials present in the meeting to take responsibility and ensure that the benefits of the new tax structure that came into effect from July 1 were passed on to the end consumers.

The Centre has also underlined the need to keep monitoring the prices of all essential commodities so that they were not inflated. “It was a stock taking meeting to understand the ground reality,” a senior finance ministry official said.

“The problem is the miscommunication and rumours floating around social media…..things are becoming more complicated due to this,” the official said.

On Sunday, Adhia had tweeted urging people not to spread rumours.

Also on Sunday, the finance ministry issued a statement saying that the GST roll out has been smooth and no major problems have been reported. However, there have been problems relating to the billing process and many other issues are expected to emerge in the coming days.

“We are prepared and there are bound to be teething problems,” the official added.