Textile traders and merchants in Surat who were on strike since the last two weeks protesting against the new tax structure have called off their movement following the centre’s assurance to look into their demand for its roll back. This followed with their meeting with the Finance Minister in Delhi yesterday.

Manoj Agrawal, a textile trader said during the meeting, Jaitley assured them that the issue of the GST on cloth will be taken up in the next GST Council meeting to be held on August 5. Thus, they have decided to call off the strike till that date. If no favourable decision comes in that meeting, they will think of going on strike again to raise their demand, he said.

Surat has one of the biggest textile markets in the country. On July 3, thousands of protesting traders had gathered near the Ring Road in Surat, where the main market is situated, demanding scrapping of GST on textiles.

– Apparel and Textile News, Apparel Talk, Indian Apparel