GST glitches, cash shortage hit shopping, traders see sharp 40% fall in pre-Diwali sales across country

New Delhi: As much as 40 percent drop has been recorded in sales in markets across the country due to low footfall of consumers because of cash shortages, traders body CAIT said on Monday.

With just 3 days for Diwali, "markets across the country are gloomy, having a deserted look with very less festivity and less foot fall of the consumers", resulting in 40 percent drop in sales in comparison to last year, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said in a statement.It said less footfall is there in markets because of cash shortage.It also said that the slowdown is further multiplied by glitches in the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which kicked in from 1 July."Confusion still prevails to a great extent which is more bothering to traders. Tax compliance of almost all taxes falls in this month only," it added.