Assocham calls for higher cash withdrawal limit for transporters

New Delhi: In the wake of the November 8 demonetisation of high value currency, industry chamber Assocham on Sunday urged the government to increase the cash withdrawal limit for logistic and transport fleet owners since they need cash for meeting their expenses.

"As India Inc supports Prime Minister Narendra Modi's battle against black money, Assocham has urged the government to consider, among other relief measures, increasing the cash withdrawal limit for logistic and transport fleet owners since they need hard cash for meeting expenses for crew members including truck drivers and cleaners," the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India said in a statement here.

"A latest Assocham study on transport and logistics has noted that close to 10 per cent of the en route expenses of trucks on trunk routes are accounted for by drivers and other support crew for the journeys which take seven-eight days on a single trip," it said.

"The entire expenses of the drivers and other crew are to be met through cash. In the wake of the demonetisation, fleet owners are facing problems in operations. Traditionally, all this money was required in cash. The driver also acts as a petty cashier. The note ban has come as a bottleneck to the transport business," it said.

The business chamber also asked the government to review the current account cash withdrawal limit of Rs 50,000 per week and raise it "to minimum Rs four to five lakh, which is bare minimum."

Besides, "faster turnaround of trucks alone in the absence of checkposts may improve the operational efficiency of the road transport sector", it said, noting there are 177 inter-state checkposts and 268 toll barriers on national highways.

"The Assocham study suggested that to promote seamless inter-state freight flows, green channel should be adopted for transit of secure/sealed containerised cargo," it added.