Local Dairy, Agri Products to Come Under GST

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has accepted the recommendations of a panel of State Finance Ministers and Fitment Committee to bring unbranded but packed (local) dairy and agricultural products within the ambit of a 5 percent tax rate slab.

'Pre-packaged, labelled' and agri products -- such as lassi, buttermilk, packaged curd, wheat flour, other cereals, honey, papad, foodgrains, meat & fish (except frozen), puffed rice, jaggery -- are all set to become costlier once Union Finance Ministry issues a notification to implement the GST Council decision.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to brief the media on the outcomes of the 47th GST Council meeting at 4 pm today.

Currently, a 5 per cent GST is levied on branded and packaged food items, while unpacked and unlabelled are exempted from tax.

The Council has also accepted the recommendation of State Finance Ministers to bring hotel rooms (with tariff below ₹ 1,000 per night) and hospital rooms (with a daily tariff of over ₹ 5,000 per day) within the ambit of a 12 per cent GST rate slab, stated reports.

Further, the GST Council is likely to discuss the GST Compensation issue and a proposal to impose a uniform rate of 28 per cent on all activities related to online games, casinos and horse racing, including the contest entry fee paid by the player.

GST was introduced on July 1, 2017, and states were assured of compensation for the revenue loss till June 2022, arising on account of the rollout.

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