Walmart India launches exclusive GST toll-free helpline for `kirana' retailers

In order to enable the kiranas and other reseller members’ transition smoothly into the new tax regime as well as ensure minimum disruptions in their businesses with the roll-out of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from 1st July, Walmart India has launched an exclusive GST toll-free helpline for them.

The exclusive helpline has been set up for members to address their queries, clarify doubts and explain the nuances of the new tax structure. The helpline will serve as a query resolution center with trained staff and experts to handle all GST-related queries. All that the kirana members of the Walmart stores have to do is dial this helpline number and quote their unique membership number. Krish Iyer, President & CEO, Walmart India, said, "GST is not just a tax reform, it is a whole new way of doing business. With its impending implementation, it is imperative for all businesses, large and small, to get ready to embark on the GST adoption journey. At Walmart India, our teams are working diligently to be 100% GST ready in time and we remain committed to help our partners in the whole process for a win-win and smooth transition to the new tax regime. Our toll-free helpline service network is an innovative and a pioneering initiative on GST and will be an important catalyst in the eco-system. GST will positively impact the informal sector and will help unleash new entrepreneurial energy. We’re confident that Small reseller & kiranas will be able to scale up their businesses significantly. With the Customer at the heart of everything we do, this initiative will ultimately lead to a positive impact on our customers as we emerge with a streamlined process both at the back-end and the front-end.’’

The helpline has a pool of experts to address a wide range of queries from our members on registration, payment of tax, input tax credit, refunds, among others. The toll-free helpline based in Noida has a built-in capacity to handle over 2500 queries a day with services available in Hindi, Telugu, Punjabi, Marathi and English. The Walmart Members can also email their queries to indiaqueries@walmart.com.