Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, MP from Mysuru, said that the GST notices served to small traders was a desperate attempt by the government of Karnataka to recover revenue lost due to ‘unscientific guarantee schemes that are a drain on the exchequer’.
Though Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has ordered withdrawal of the notices, the controversy is yet to die down. Mr. Yaduveer took to social media to urge the government of Karnataka to prioritise public awareness over abrupt enforcement.
The controversial tax notices, which targeted micro enterprises, including bakeries and condiment vendors, demanded lakhs of rupees in dues — some dating back four to five years — sparking widespread panic among small traders.
Though the Congress leaders in Mysuru blamed the Centre for the GST notices, Mr. Yaduveer insisted that they were not issued by the Central Government, but by the Commercial Tax Department of the government of Karnataka.
“This move is deeply concerning,” he said, adding that small businesses have been targeted without any prior guidance or awareness campaign. The enforcement drive was not just ill-timed, but also poorly thought out, and motivated by the need to make up for fiscal mismanagement, he alleged.
The MP further criticised the manner in which the notices were served, highlighting the setback to digital payment adoption. “Such actions are discouraging UPI usage in local businesses, undermining the nation’s digital payment ecosystem and creating fear among merchants,” he said in his social media post.
The MP also criticised the attempts being made by the Congress to blame the Centre. “Efforts to portray this as a Central Government decision are misleading. Current GST rules apply only to businesses with turnover above ₹40 lakh. This sudden enforcement seems like a veiled attempt to gradually push even the smallest traders into the GST ambit,” said Mr. Yaduveer.
Calling for a more responsible approach from the State Government, he said the focus should be on creating awareness, transparency and supporting digital transactions rather than weakening them.
