A delegation of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Friday apprised Minister for Finance, Labour and Employment Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari about various issues being faced by industries.
Bukhari assured the delegation that the government would take steps to ensure a favourable environment for the growth of industries in the state.
The delegation urged the government to reduce the goods and services tax (GST) on almond kernels from 12 per cent to 5 per cent. They said after the GST implementation, other similar categories and dried fruits, such as raisins, cashew kernels and walnuts, were initially taxed at 12 per cent but later at 5 per cent except almond kernels.
Appealing to the minister to consider the invoice value for calculating the GST rate in hotels, the delegation requested that the rate be reduced from 28 per cent to 12 per cent.
They said lack of clarity around a key term for calculating the GST rate for hotels was spelling trouble for consumers. While stating that the government had said the hotels with “declared tariffs” of Rs 7,500 and above would charge 28 per cent GST, the CII representatives said the term “declared tariff” was unclear as hotels could declare new seasonal tariffs several times a year and rates might vary each time.
They urged the government to clarify and consider invoice value for calculating the GST rates in hotels.
Reduce GST on Almond Kernels: CII
