Govt should act quick on the hiked tax rates for hotels under GST and the ill informed implementation of online sale of medicines. #GST...

DMK working president M.K. Stalin addressed dual commercial and healthcare crises on May 30, 2017, demanding prompt policy interventions regarding excessive GST rates on the hospitality sector and ill-conceived guidelines permitting online medicine sales. Stalin stated that hasty policy implementation without adequate stakeholder consultation was triggering widespread economic distress and threatening established public health safeguards across the state.

Stalin observed that retail chemists and pharmacists across Tamil Nadu were deeply alarmed by central proposals facilitating unregulated online pharmaceutical portals. He cautioned that permitting e-pharmacies without stringent prescription verification protocols created severe risks of drug misuse, counterfeit medicines, and the collapse of neighborhood retail dispensaries. Simultaneously, disproportionate tax slabs on hotels threatened to burden consumers and undermine thousands of culinary businesses that employ millions across urban centers.

The opposition leader called upon both state and central authorities to address these pressing concerns before irreversible damage was done to local commerce and public health. He urged the government to establish transparent consultative mechanisms with pharmacy federations and hotel associations. Stalin emphasized that the DMK would remain vigilant in safeguarding consumer safety and protecting small business operators from detrimental policy directives.