SRINAGAR: The Union finance ministry has initiated an inquiry against businesses engaged in trade across the Line of Control ( LoC ) in Jammu and Kashmir under the GST Act and has sought details from the state government about the goods sent and received since 2017.The details were sought in March about top ten traders, following which the Union home ministry suspended the trade till stringent measures are taken to monitor the trade. The stringent measures include installation of full-body truck scanners, which officials said may take several months.According to the finance ministry order, details were sought under Section 70 of the CGST Act by April 15. Traders of both Salamabad of Uri and Chakan Da Bagh in Poonch are under the scanner.The home ministry announced the suspension of cross-LoC trade on Thursday saying the route was being misused on a large scale.On Friday, officials said that trading of 21 items such as red chili, mangoes, herbs and dry fruits will be hit following the indefinite suspension of cross-LoC trade. It has often been suspended in the wake of political tensions between the two countries.The National Investigation Agency has probed some of the traders for their alleged involvement in narcotics and illegal money exchange.Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq slammed the decision to suspend cross-LoC trade. “Such measures for short term gains come at a huge price for people.”

Source: Economic Times April 20, 2019 03:22 UTC