MADURAI: The Agrofood Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Agrofood Chamber) from Madurai has condemned the recommendations of the GST Council taken at the 47th GST Council meeting held in Chandigarh for two days on 28th and 29th June 2022.
“Most of the recommendations of the GST Council in its 47th meeting are against the interests of trade and industry and also consumers. When Agrofood Chamber was appealing for exemption of essential food products whether branded or not from the GST, it is a rude shock that the exemption granted hitherto on specified food items, grains etc has now been withdrawn for pre-packaged and pre-labelled retail pack in terms of Legal Metrology Act. The increase of GST rate from 5% to 18% on wet grinders is a blow to the MSME sector involved in wet grinders manufacturing,” said Mr.S.Rethinavelu, founder and president, Agrofood Chamber, in a press statement issued from Madurai today- on 30th June 2022.
Mr.Rethinavelu has urged the Union Finance Minister Mrs.Nirmala Sitharaman to form a Group of Ministers to look into the pain points and hardships in the implementation of GST, faced by assesses, who collect and pay more than Rs.1.4 lakh crores every month to the Government of India. The recommendations of Group of Ministers on GST issues should be submitted before the GST Council meeting to be held in Madurai in August 2022, he added.
Mr.Rethinavelu had pointed out in the press statement that manufacturers of branded food products are being driven from pillar to post. “We must think of unbranded producers who are struggling……They are spending enormous money for advertisements already, and they are also taxed. These measures would push up the prices of several commodities. The GST Council had not looked in to many important issues at its 47th GST Council meeting and its concentration was focused on tax revenues mobilization,” Mr.S.Rethinavelu has said in the press release issued from Madurai on behalf of Agrofood Chamber, Madurai.
