NT NETWORK
PANAJI
Facing flak over the trade circular issued on November 30 asking the traders and businessmen in the state to ensure that they go cashless within ten days,
Commissioner of Commercial Taxes Deepak Bandekar on Thursday withdrew the earlier circular and replaced it with a new one.
The new clarification circular, issued on December 8, has no mention of a deadline for the traders to go cashless and it states that the time limit “will not apply.” It also states that going cashless is “only an option and not compulsion.”
The circular states that the commercial tax ward officers, along with banks, will sensitise dealers and hoteliers about the benefits of accepting payments through various cashless modes. The ward officers will submit a report by January 31, 2017, on the response of dealers towards going cashless. Based on the report, “further steps will be taken for encouraging cashless transactions,” states the circular.
The new circular clarifies that the earlier circular had not banned cash transactions and was an appeal made to facilitate business on account of problems faced post demonetisation. The new circular states that the clarification is being issued “after interaction with other stakeholders like banking institutions and after taking into consideration the need for training of proprietors and dealers to operate PoS machines, time taken for configuration of other electronic modes of payment and the business rush due to the ensuing festive season.”
The state government had on November 27 announced that Goa would be the first state in the country to go cashless by December 30. Subsequently, the department issued a circular setting a deadline for the dealers, hoteliers and members of trade to go cashless.
However, the circular drew a panic reaction and dealers rushed to buy mobile point of sale (MPoS) machines from banks. Small shop owners were particularly worried as they are used to functioning with cash and have little knowledge of the PoS machines, QR code recognition payment devices etc. Also, there is a shortage of the swipe machines with banks.
The BJP party’s state unit had also criticised the circular and demanded its withdrawal. The party had said that cashless regime in the state by December 30, as announced by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, was “not practical.”