Shipki La trade faces fresh roadblock over IGST levy

India and China are two big neighbors who share a long mountain border.

In one small mountain pass called Shipki La, people from nearby villages trade with each other.

This kind of trade is very old and works by swapping goods instead of paying money — it is called barter.

For six years, this trade was stopped because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This month, it started again, and some traders crossed the border to swap goods.

But when they came back, tax officers asked them to pay a tax called IGST on the things they brought home.

The traders say this tax is meant for buying and selling with money, not for swapping goods with neighbors.

They think paying this tax is unfair, so they refused to take their goods home, and the trade has stopped again.

The traders have asked India's Prime Minister to fix the problem and let them trade without this tax.