Andhra finance minister seeks exemption of dried tamarind under GST

In a follow up to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meeting held on Thursday, Andhra Pradesh Minister of Finance and Planning, Commercial Taxes and Legislative Affairs Yanamala Ramakrishnudu reiterated the exemption of dried tamarind from GST.

The Minister, in a press note, said while tamarind was exempted under the VAT scheme, only fresh Tamarind is exempted under GST, and tax is still levied on dried tamarind, which is the main commodity used by common people in their daily food.

"Tamarind was initially taxed at 12 percent, and later reduced to 5 percent. It is requested to exempt tamarind dried from GST, as it is mainly used by common people in the southern states of India in their daily food. Just like the food grains, which are exempted, tamarind dried should also to be exempted," he said.

The minister further stated that products sold by the Girijan Cooperative Corporation of Andhra Pradesh, such as honey, coffee, soaps, and so on, be exempted from GST, in a bid to make these products more competitive with other brands. Alternatively, Girijan Cooperative Corporation Ltd, Visakhapatnam and its affiliated Girijan Primary Marketing Cooperative societies, the minister suggested, may be exempted from registration under section 23 (2) of GST Act.

Among other products to be exempted under the GST, as per the Minister include fishnets and fishnet fabrics, cotton yarn in hanks, and fried grams.

The Minister further suggested that the tax rate of Napa Tiles should be reduced to 5 percent, the commodity Natu Tobacco Cheroot may be exempted from cess, the tax rate on Cheroots may be reduced from 28 percent, the tax rate on tractors be reduced from 12 to 5 percent.

Ramakrishnudu also stated that cess on hybrid cars be removed or brought down to 3 percent from the current 15 percent rate, in a bid to encourage people to purchase these cars.