11th National Traders Welfare Board Meeting Held in New Delhi

The National Traders' Welfare Board (NTWB), which advises the government on the concerns of the trading community, held its eleventh meeting at Vanijya Bhawan in New Delhi in hybrid mode. The board works under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and its members include representatives of trade associations as well as officials of ministries who sit on it by virtue of their office.

What the board took up

Members went through the tax questions that traders raise most often: making rules simpler, delays in refunds, audits that drag on, amnesty schemes, mismatches in input tax credit and appeals that remain undecided. On credit, they sought a place for traders on the facilitation committees meant for small units, a single national loan portal that would decide an application within 30 days, changes in the way credit scores are worked out, and helplines where a trader can take a complaint.

Digital push

On the digital side the board discussed taking the Open Network for Digital Commerce and DigiDukaan down to the district level, opening facilitation desks for women entrepreneurs under NITI Aayog, setting up committees to hear complaints of harassment at the workplace and strengthening the machinery that handles cyber fraud. DigiDukaan, an initiative of the open network for business-to-business buying and for taking neighbourhood grocery shops online, already has over 19,000 retailers on board in Hyderabad and Jaipur.

What the chairman reported

Chairman Sunil J. Singhi, who presided, listed the steps taken for traders, among them the Jan Vishwas Act, which has eased 40,000 compliances, and the setting up of state traders' welfare boards in Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, with Goa and Telangana confirming in writing. He also pointed to 100 virtual conferences held one after another to keep the centre and the states talking, to Bhamashah Jayanti being observed as Rashtriya Vyaapari Diwas on 29 June, and to trader outreach in Dehradun, Indore and Chandigarh.

Reforms on the way

Members were briefed on the next generation of goods and services tax reforms, on the tie-up with the open network, and on the Consumer Protection (Amendment) Bill 2026, which is proposed to come into force from 1 January 2027. The board also discussed the trade agreement being negotiated with the United Kingdom, with an eye on exports, and closed by restating its aim of helping build Viksit Bharat 2047. The meeting was opened by DPIIT Director Yuvraj Ravindra Patil.