Srinagar December 18:(KNS) The Chairman PHD Chamber Kashmir Mr Baldev Singh Raina who is also heading the automobile Committee of Kashmir and Mr Sanjay Aggarwal Co-Chairman PHDCCI-Jammu and Owner of Jammu Motors in a press statement issued said that no support is being given to automobile sector. In these testing times we have been paying crores of taxes, and we are the major job providers of UT of J&K, despite that the lock down, Salaries, PF, ESIC, and GST all on our head.

The government's economic relief package largely ignored the interests of the automobile industry. It did not even have enough demand-inducing measures which would have helped consumer-facing sectors. Baldev said the industry is expecting some help by way of a reduction in taxes. We will survive covid-19 but the surety fee, 9% registration tax will kill the automobile sector.

While the UT Government has been taking considerable measures for the reform in other sectors, it is the need of an hour to bring in some short-term measures which can yield immediate results in spurring demand in automobile sector, resolving liquidity crunch and create new jobs.

Sanjay Aggarwal said that the reorganization of J&K coupled with the ongoing shutdown of economic activity due to COVID-19 outbreak, has certainly reduced the spending budget of a household on goods like automobiles, resultantly leading to dip in sales/turnover of the automobile sector.
The PHD Chamber urges the UT government, in order to stimulate the demand and increase the employment in auto sector during the ongoing massive slowdown must consider the rollback of pre-requisite of Bank Guarantee for Dealer Point registration and 9% Registration Tax levied on automobiles for a temporary period of 3-years as a short-term relief measures.(KNS)