protest path

(From top) A sales tax notice put up on a sealed shop at Raja Market, traders protest against the sales tax officials for their alleged high-handedness near Gandhi Maidan and sealed shops at Raja Market on Friday. Pictures by Deepak Kumar

Several shops, mainly in commercial areas like Exhibition Road, Bhattacharya Road, Raja Market and Station Road, were closed on Friday in protest against the alleged high-handedness of sales tax officers.

On Wednesday, some traders on Exhibition Road allegedly assaulted a team of sales tax officers during a raid on their shops.

On Thursday, the sales tax officers, sealed a few shops in the Exhibition Road area with police help. Friday’s strike was to protest the same.

Former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, who used to hold the finance portfolio, criticised the state government on the issue.

“During the NDA coalition for seven-and-a-half years, no such incident occurred. But now that the department is in the Nitish Kumar government’s control, such incidents are coming to light. This is another failure of the state government. What was the need of conducting raids for three continuous days, I don’t understand,” said a press note issued by Modi.

The strike badly hit consumers. Shailendra Kumar Srivatava, a resident of Postal Park area, said: “I went to buy motorcycle parts but the shop was closed. It would be really difficult for me to get the work done tomorrow because of my busy schedule.”

A section of traders on Friday planned to continue their strike and keep their shops closed on Saturday as well.

Another section of traders said it was not certain whether they would shut their shops on Saturday also. Traders of Station Road area said they would intensify their strike and agitate in front of the Income Tax Office on Saturday, while the Raja Market traders said they might plan a statewide strike in a few days.

“Ninety-five per cent shops are closed in this market in support of the strike called by different traders’ associations. We condemn Wednesday’s assault on sales tax officers. They should not have been beaten up but dhuan wahin uthta hai, jahan aag lagti hai (there is no smoke without fire). I have heard from my co-traders that the around 20-30 sales tax officials reached the Exhibition Road market on Wednesday afternoon. They found Rs 1 lakh in a trader’s shop and accused him of deliberately hiding his actual income to avoid paying higher sales tax. In that peak business hour, the trader concerned got into an altercation with the officers. I am telling you what I heard from my fellow traders,” said Partha Sarthi, president, Patna Scooter Traders’ Association and a trader of RK Bhattacharya Road.

“Afternoons and evenings are peak business hours. The officials came with a big force to different shops. The traders couldn’t control their anger. Traders are not criminals. Then, why did the sales tax officials bring a big force to conduct raids? You can’t collect taxes from traders forcefully. We might call a statewide strike in a few days if the situation does not improve,” added Partha Sarthi.

Nagendra Singh, president, Raja Market Traders’ Association, said: “Our first demand is the sales tax commissioner’s removal. Next, the 50 sealed shops must be opened. We co-operated with the officials on Monday and Tuesday. But on Friday, they sealed our shops. What was our fault?” said Vinod Kumar, a trader of Raja Market.

“We would suggest the sales tax department to conduct raids only after identifying the shops which have not paid taxes. Conducting raids on all shops, including those which have paid taxes, is not at all justified,” said P.K. Agrawal, chairperson, Bihar Chamber of Commerce and Industries.

Commercial tax department officers have decided not to conduct raids without a big force. “We were forced to take this decision after Wednesday’s assault on income tax officers,” said a senior officer.