GST on pre-packed labelled meals objects to extend merchants’ compliance burden, increase costs: CAIT

Traders’ physique CAIT on Monday stated the choice to levy 5 per cent GST on pre-packed and labelled meals objects will trigger lack of enterprise to foodgrain merchants, improve compliance burden and lift the costs of unbranded on a regular basis necessities.

Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) stated it’s going to enchantment to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and the GST Council to rethink the choice.

Pre-packed and labelled meals objects like meat, fish, curd, paneer and honey will now entice GST.

This comes after the GST Council final week accepted many of the suggestions of a gaggle of ministers from states on withdrawing exemptions to rationalising the levy.

CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal stated that to protest in opposition to this determination of the GST Council, the merchants’ delegation will meet state finance ministers and hand over a memorandum to them.

He stated there’s plenty of anger and outrage among the many foodgrain merchants on the advice of the GST Council for bringing all forms of pre-packed and pre-labelled foodgrains and different objects below the GST tax slab of 5 per cent, which can trigger an enormous lack of enterprise to foodgrain merchants throughout the nation.

“This determination will empower huge manufacturers to seize the market at the price of small producers and merchants. Special meals objects, cereals, and so on, which weren’t branded until now, have been exempted from GST.

“With this decision of the council, pre-packaged and pre-labelled retail packs, including pre-packaged, pre-labelled curd, lassi and buttermilk, will now attract GST tax and will cause huge damage to the business of foodgrain traders in more than 6,500 grain markets across the country,” Khandelwal stated.

Addressing a press convention right here, CAIT’s National President BC Bhartia stated this determination is not going to solely improve the burden of compliance and price to the merchants however alternatively, the essential items of necessity will even turn into costly.

“According to this decision, now if a grocery shopkeeper also sells food items packed with any mark for identification of his item only, then he will have to pay GST on that food item. After this decision, agricultural products with pre-packaged labels like paneer, buttermilk, packaged curd, wheat flour, other cereals, honey, papad, food grains, meat and fish (except frozen), puffed rice and jaggery etc. will also become costlier,” Bhartia stated.