The Finance Ministry’s income division on Thursday in a tweet clarified that gangajal (water from the holy Ganga river) and puja samagri (objects) stay exempt below the Items and Providers Tax (GST). Amid the claims of imposition of 18 per cent GST on Gangajal, the Central Board of Oblique Taxes and Customs (CBIC) stated that the necessity for clarification on applicability of GST on gangajal was felt due to sure information studies
“Gangajal utilized in puja by households throughout the nation and puja samagri is exempt below GST. GST on puja samagri was mentioned intimately within the 14th and fifteenth conferences of the GST Council held in 2017 and determined to maintain them within the exempt record. Due to this fact, all this stuff have been exempt for the reason that introduction of GST,” it stated.
The Council had exempted items corresponding to kajal, kumkum, bindis, sindoor, alta, plastic and glass bangles, puja samagri of every kind, from the purview of taxation below GST.
Clarification concerning sure media studies on applicability of GST on Gangajal. pic.twitter.com/t598ahN07x
— CBIC (@cbic_india) October 12, 2023
The CBIC stated that GST on ‘puja samagri’ was mentioned intimately within the 14th and fifteenth conferences of the GST Council held on Might 18-19, 2017 and June 3, 2017, respectively and it was determined to maintain them in exempt record.
Earlier within the day Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in a submit on X stated that the federal government has imposed an 18 per cent GST on Gangajal, terming it because the “top of loot and hypocrisy”.
“It’s good that you’re in Uttarakhand in the present day, however your authorities has imposed 18 per cent GST on the holy Ganga water itself. Not even as soon as did you suppose what could be the burden on those that order Ganga water to be saved of their houses,” Kharge stated in a submit in hindi addressing Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In the meantime, the GST Council in its assembly on Saturday determined to lower the tax slab for molasses. The Council determined that molasses will probably be now taxed below the GST slab of 5 per cent, down from the earlier 28 per cent class, and additional exempted alcohol for human consumption from the levy.