Aurangabad, July 23:
Frequent lockdowns and coronavirus have put the business community in a double whammy. The shops that were closed for months, are again closing early due to restrictions imposed on the backdrop of the third wave. This has impacted the financial condition of the traders who are now worried about maintaining their CIBIL score. Many traders have lost their credit score as they have missed paying their instalments, while many have reduced their limit on the cash credit (CC) account.
The coronavirus caused a nationwide lockdown in March last year. As a result the markets in the city were closed for two and a half months. Later the market was again closed for three months during the second wave. The markets were opened in June after the second wave subsided. But as the state government warned of the possibility of the third wave and spread of the Delta variant, the district administration again imposed restriction from June 29. The city was classified in class three category and shops were ordered to close at 4 pm. A complete lockdown was announced on weekends. The early closure of markets affected the overall turnover. Traders are also losing business worth crores of rupees during the weekends. With shutters down during business hours, the turnover of clothing, electronics, electrical, bullion, toys, cutlery, cosmetic and decorative items has halved. As a result, many traders have missed paying instalments impacting the CIBIL and credit score. As per sources, some banks have started reducing the CC account limit for traders, sources said. With the reducing numbers of covid patients, traders hope that the restrictions will be eased off.
Should not reduce CC limit
While renewing the CC account traders have to furnish their balance sheet to the banks. But lockdown and restrictions reduced the annual turnover. The reduced balance sheet had an impact on the CC account. Traders also missed paying instalments further impacting their credit score. The central government should provide a relief package for the traders to bring them out of the crisis. The central government must also direct the Reserve Bank of India to not reduce the CC limit for past two years, said president of the Zilla Vyapari Mahasangh Jagannath Kale.