FAM criticises ICRIER report on small retailers

The Federation of Associations of Maharashtra (FAM) has sent a 3-page recommendation to the Prime Minister saying that the recommendations of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) report recently released were mere assumptions without any basis or logic.

The report's contention that unorganised retail will not be able to service growth in terms of logistics, supply chain management, waste and consumer amenities, were based on assumptions, FAM said.

Besides modern retail will train people in a way that the unorganised sector cannot is totally incorrect, it said.

The Federation alleged that the report was trying to confuse people by using high-sounding management jargons like Logistics, supply chain management, waste and consumer amenities.

FAM said that "as regards the contention that small retail traders do not pay taxes (which would mean only Income Tax under the present dispensation of the VAT regime), we may clarify that a large majority of small street shops, street vendors, pheriwalas, etc., would not be liable to pay Income Tax as they would be below the levels of earnings above which IT becomes payable. The large retail stores and their distribution agencies in any case pay Income Tax as required under the IT Act."