Memorandum getting ready on GST rates to save MSME; CPI

The CPI is in the process of preparing a memorandum on the GST requirements for the MSME sector, which is feeling the pinch of higher tax rates, the party MP-elect K Subbarayan said Saturday. The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector was seriously affected due to the higher GST rates in India, particularly Tamil Nadu, where more than 50,000 industries were closed in the last two years, Subbarayan claimed.

The CPI leader had won from nearby Tirupur constituency, a hub for MSME and Knitwear industries. Subbbarayan asked whether the Centre was ready to come out with a 'whitepaper' on the status of MSME in the country after the introduction of GST since there were reports that more than six lakh industries were shut.

The memorandum will be submitted to the government by all the MPs elected from Tamil Nadu, he added. Subbarayan, who is also deputy secretary of the party in Tamil Nadu, reiterated the CPI's stance on exempting the State from the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).