Traders want spice, herb seeds out of VAT

The Seedsmen Association of Bengal (SAB) has urged the state government to exempt spices and herbs for sowing and gardening purposes from the purview of value added tax (VAT).

Speaking at the second annual general meeting of the association, Amiyo Kanti Das, president of SAB, pointed out that even though in 2005, Asim Dasgupta, finance minister of West Bengal, had announced all seeds would be exempt from VAT, in reality the order was not implemented.

Thus, seeds for spices like coriander, imported into West Bengal, were subject to VAT.

However, these seeds were not only used as spices, but also consumed as vegetables, and so should be exempt from VAT, contended Das.

No marketing fee should be collected by the regulated marketing committee for any seed, he said.

At present, only jute seeds were exempt from marketing cess.

Sushanta Ghosh, state minister, said except for paddy seeds, the state had not made much progress in developing seeds for crops like potato, jute and vegetables.

According to Swapan Dutta, member of the state agriculture commission, and professor at University of Calcutta, the state needed more investment in research and development in agriculture, especially seed development, and this would be possible through involvement of big companies in the field.

About 90 per cent of the state's seed requirement for vegetables production was being produced by private sector firms, he added.

However, according to Hafiz Alam Sairani, general secretary of Agragami Kisan Sabha West Bengal unit, a farmer's group with 12 lakh members, involvement of multinational companies in agriculture would hit small farmers.

"If agriculture was controlled by corporate houses, then marginal farmers will face problems," said Sairani.

Mohanta Chatterjee, minister for food processing and horticulture of West Bengal, said the state agriculture commission would soon submit a report on improvement of agriculture in West Bengal.