It was a Monday, minus the mishti in Kolkata and other parts of Bengal, as many sweet shops shuttered in protest against GST being levied on Bengali sweets. According to the West Bengal Mishtanna Byabshayee Samiti, which had also staged a protest last June, before the GST rollout, there were over a lakh sweet shops that participated in the shutdown.
‘Bengali Sweets Are More Perishable Than Those In the Rest of the Country’
The sweet shop owners argue that Bengali sweets are more perishable than other sweets – they usually last no more than eight hours. So, if things like vegetables, fish and even lassi are not under the GST, then why mishti (sweets)?
“We were earlier exempted from VAT. Then why do we have to get taxed under the GST?” said Sudip Mullick of Balaram Mullick and Radharam Mullick, a famous chain of sweet shops in Kolkata. “Is Lassi not taxed because it is from North India?” he added.
“Modi ji has likened West Bengal to other states. Sweets here don’t stay beyond a day, which is why we protested and removed the VAT too when it was imposed,” said Pranab Nandy of another famous sweet shop in North Kolkata, Girish Chandra Dey and Nakur Chandra Nandy.
Lack of Infrastructure
The unorganised mishti industry in Bengal employs about 10 lakh people. While this protest was being led by the big sweet families, there are many small family-run shops which do not have the infrastructure to embrace GST.
“Smaller shops now have to buy computers and also hire people who can use them to calculate prices of different sweets that fall under different tax slabs”, said Sandip Sen of Sen Mahashay.
“Does Modi ji want Bengal’s sweet heritage to come to an abrupt end?”, said Pradip Nag of Bhim Chandra Nag.
Price Hike
Customers rue, however, that the the price of sweets have gone up post GST. Especially in the Pre-Pujo season.
“We can’t think of Kolkata without its mishti. I am worried because I don’t know how smaller shops will afford the GST,” said Joyeeta Basu, a resident of Kolkata. “We take mishti to everyone’s homes in the festive season. If it gets expensive, the (Durga) Pujas will be an expensive one for us,” said Susmita Bagchi, another resident.
Others were cynical of the entire shutdown. “We can’t blame GST completely. It has ensured a certain amount of quality control. If a few shops shut down, then I don’t think the entire mishti business in Bengal will shut down,” said Debobroto Saha.
“To sum it up, I either have to accept GST and increase my prices, or shut down – and the customers have an issue with both,” concludes Sandip Sen.
Video Editors: Ashutosh Bhardwaj and Purnendu Pritam
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)