Kolkata: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Oct 8 clarification that goods cannot be detained in a transit state has failed to resolve the crisis on the Bengal-Assam border, where 300 trucks from refineries in Assam going to Bihar, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh have been held up since Sept 17.“Goods can be inspected, detained or seized only by the officer of the supplier or the destination state. No in-between stopping. Also, goods can be intercepted only on specific intelligence and the authorisation of at least a joint commissioner-level officer. Any random GST officer cannot stop a vehicle,” Sitharaman said after the GST Council meeting on Thursday.Yet, GST authorities in Bengal have refused to allow trucks carrying raw petroleum coke to enter the state. About 50% of trucks are headed to Visakhapatnam, around 20% to Bengal’s Haldia and Durgapur and the remaining to Bihar’s Barauni and Odisha’s Paradip.“Companies transporting the goods have already incurred Rs 1 crore in demurrage. GST has been paid for all the goods. All documents are in place. But the trucks are still being held up at the border without any reason being cited,” said Kailash Agarwal of the Barauni Calciners Association.Agarwal met Bengal commercial taxes commissioner SK Meena on Friday and was assured that the matter had been resolved. However, the trucks have still not been allowed to enter the state. The association has written to the chief minister’s office, the PMO, the Union finance minister and BJP national general secretary Sunil Bansal seeking a solution.“There is a human cost to all of this. The drivers have been stuck at the border for almost four weeks, away from their families, ahead of Durga Puja and Dussehra, and are struggling to find food and basic facilities. They are under severe mental and emotional stress,” Agarwal added.
