CPM state secretary K Balakrishnan 
Tamil Nadu

Rollback 18 per cent GST on shop rents paid by small traders, CPM demands central government

K Balakrishnan, party state secretary, said that the Centre has been favouring big corporate firms since it came to power but suppressing small and micro-entrepreneurs and small traders.

DT NEXT Bureau

CHENNAI: The Communist Party Marxist (CPM) has demanded the central government roll back the decision to collect 18 per cent GST on shop rents paid by small traders.

K Balakrishnan, party state secretary, said that the Centre has been favouring big corporate firms since it came to power but suppressing small and micro-entrepreneurs and small traders.

“In continuation to this, the government has decided in the GST Council meeting on September 23 to impose 18 per cent GST against monthly rents paid by small traders to building owners. This will affect the traders who are running their businesses in rental shops,” he warned.

Balakrishnan opined that the decision will further push them into further financial crisis.

Sikkim tunnel collapse: 20 workers dead, efforts on to rescue five trapped

Tamil Nadu records 38 manual scavenging deaths in 2026, third-highest in country

Tamil Nadu government to appoint non-hereditary trustees to 8,193 temples

No point in being furious with the Censor Board, says H Vinoth ahead of Jana Nayagan release

Rahul, Priyanka, Akhilesh detained, forcibly removed from protest site near PM's residence